Idaho Values Alliance

Comments may now be left on IVA website

2005-12-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

We've constructed a new website, www.idahovaluesalliance.com, where our Daily Updates are posted. You may also sign up there to receive the Daily Updates delivered to your inbox.

We've added a comment feature there, which makes it possible for you to add your own commentary to the contents of each day's posting.

You can post a comment on the website going to the upper right hand corner of the home page and accessing the "Daily Update" for which you would like to leave a comment. Scroll to the bottom of the update, and you'll find the comment feature.

As a cautionary note, no comments will be posted which contain either profanity or vulgarity. We want to keep the discussion calm and focused on issues, fact, history, law, and reason.

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

Friday, December 23, 2005

Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

WELCOME TO THE NEW IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE WEBSITE!

Many thanks to David Hollander of SparkWeb Interactive for completing the design of our new website! You may access it by going to:

www.idahovaluesalliance.com

THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS – THE ELEVENTH HOUR

Christians continue to find their freedom of speech and religion hampered by political correctness run amok, even on the eve of the celebration of Christ’s birth. For example, a school district in New York has an office area devoted to multiculturalism that currently features a display or decoration for Kwanzaa (a holiday that wasn’t even invented until the 1960s), a menorah, a Star of David and a decorated tree. But a nativity scene donated by a parent was turned down.

Christmas battles waged to last minute

HANUKKAH: A CELEBRATION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

While Christians celebrate the birth of Christ, our Jewish friends will be celebrating Hanukkah. Hanukkah is about many things, but perhaps the main thing it is about is religious freedom. When the Syrian tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes invaded Jerusalem in 168 BC, he brought Jewish worship to a halt and defiled the temple by offering a pig on the sacred altar.

This stirred Judas Maccabeus and his family to launch an insurrection to take possession again of what was rightfully theirs. After three years, the Maccabees and their followers reclaimed the temple area, cleansed it, and renewed the worship of the God of the Scriptures. Despite the fact that they possessed only enough oil for the temple lampstand to burn for one day, it miraculously burned for 8 days. And so the celebration became known as the Festival of Lights.

The story of the Maccabees reminds us that religious liberty is the most fundamental and important of all liberties, and a liberty that is worth defending even at great cost. It was the very first freedom our Founding Fathers protected when they enacted the Bill of Rights. It is worth fighting for as much today as it was in the days of ancient Israel.

According the John 10:22, Jesus himself celebrated this Festival (called “The Feast of Dedication”), which makes it a part of Christian tradition as well. Using a menorah I purchased in Israel, my family has observed the practice of lighting an additional candle for each night of the celebration and reading aloud the blessings assigned to each day. Happy Hanukkah to all lovers of religious liberty!

TODAY’S CHRISTMAS QUOTE

In December of 1944, during the dark days of the Battle of the Bulge, President Franklin Roosevelt declared: "It is not easy to say 'Merry Christmas' to you, my fellow Americans, in this time of destructive war... We will celebrate this Christmas Day in our traditional American way...because the teachings of Christ are fundamental in our lives...the story of the coming of the immortal Prince of Peace."

THE LIBERATING POWER OF THE CHRIST OF CHRISTMAS

In Wesley Pruden’s Washington Times Christmas column, he rehearses the story of John Newton, a notorious slave trader of the 18th century. He turned his back on the faith his mother sought to instill in him, and made his living trafficking in human flesh. “At this period of my life,” he later reflected, “I was big with mischief and, like one afflicted with a pestilence, was capable of spreading a taint wherever I went.”

After being reduced to cruel slavery himself, and a near fatal ship wreck, he was at last driven to his knees. "My prayer,” he said, “was like the cry of ravens, which yet the Lord does not disdain to hear.” He returned to England where he fell under the preaching of George Whitefield and the influence of John Wesley, and was born again into the new life in Christ.

He died on this day in 1807, after writing the immortal words:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.

As Pruden says, “The malls and the Main Streets fall silent. The ringing cash registers and the happy cries of children are but ghostly echoes across silent streets. But the Christ born in a manger 2,000 years ago lives, liberating the hearts of sinners and transforming the lives of the wicked.”

Merry Christmas, everyone!

The amazing grace of Christmas morn - The Washington Times

For Blog: www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com

A Look Back at the IVA's First Month

2005-12-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

LOOK BACK AT OUR FIRST MONTH

It’s been a busy first month for the Idaho Values Alliance. I’d like to take a moment to review some of the things we’ve been involved in during our first 30 days. I deliberately use the word “we,” because we are in this together. Your financial, moral, and prayer support make the IVA possible. Whenever I have opportunity to speak or write, I do so on your behalf. Ours is a collaborative enterprise.

Here are some things we’ve been doing in over the last four weeks:

~ Daily updates to a statewide distribution list

~ A column in the Idaho Statesman advancing religious liberty and exposing the radical agenda of the ACLU

~ An interview with the local CBS affiliate for a local news story on keeping “Merry Christmas” alive in Idaho

~ Helping to generate a “ton of calls” to the governor’s office in support of his decision to call the capitol tree a “Christmas tree”

~ Generating phone calls to the CEO of Target as part of a nationwide campaign to persuade the company to reintroduce “Christmas” in their advertising; the company reversed course

~ Guest appearances on the “Trish & Halli” show in the Idaho Falls/Pocatello area, and on Starr Kelso’s “Speak Up, North Idaho” talk show in the Coeur d’Alene area, to talk about our shared values and the mission of the IVA

~ Meeting with pastors, businessmen and concerned citizens in the Coeur d’Alene area to introduce them to the vision and mission of the IVA

~ Speaking briefly about the mission of the IVA with 50 or so members of the Coeur d’Alene Pachyderm Club

~ Numerous meetings and conversations with other pro-family leaders to develop the best possible language for a marriage amendment to the Idaho constitution

With your help, we will continue to work on behalf of our shared values to make Idaho a great place to raise a family. If you have not already, please consider a tax-deductible gift to the IVA as you make your end of the year giving plans.

You might mark your calendar for Sunday afternoon, January 8 at 2 PM. We will hold a press conference at the state capitol to announce publicly the formation of the Idaho Values Alliance and to discuss our goals for the 2006 session of the Idaho legislature. Your presence would be welcome.

CITY REVERSES DECISION, CALLS “CHRISTMAS” CHRISTMAS AGAIN

“Christmas” and “Good Friday” are going back on Greencastle, Indiana’s calendar after vocal opposition to a City Council decision to replace them with “winter holiday” and “spring holiday.” The council voted 4-0 to reverse the policy after nearly 200 people singing “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” filled the council’s chambers requesting the change.

A city councilman correctly observed, “When we use the terms 'winter holiday' and 'spring holiday,' we're not being inclusive, we're being exclusive.”

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051222-122614-5099r.htm

“CIVIL PARTNERSHIPS” VIEWED AS MARRIAGES

Yesterday’s online edition of The Independent contains a lengthy story on the civil partnership ceremony of Elton John and his partner. The striking thing is that although their relationship is not technically a marriage, you would never know it from the words used in the story.

Altogether, eleven expressions are used that are normally reserved for wedding celebrations, such as “marry,” “I do,” “groom,” “exchanged vows,” “newlyweds,” “getting married,” “tied the knot,” etc.

In a related story, the supreme court of Washington may soon – as early as today - declare that gay marriage is a constitutional right in that state. This illustrates the danger that activist judges pose even at the state level to the institution of marriage. It is not possible any longer to argue that a state law is sufficient to protect marriage in Idaho. Protection must be elevated to constitutional status to prevent activist judges at the state level from imposing their own social agenda on the rest of us.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article334666.ece

CANADA SUPREME COURT: GROUP SEX LEGAL FOR CANADIANS AS YOUNG AS 14

Canada’s Supreme Court issued a ruling yesterday that group sex in publicly accessible venues is legal. The court declared that is it legal for clubs to provide opportunities for group sex as long as consent is given, the area is somewhat private, and no payment is directly involved, beyond an initial admission fee.

Since the age of consent in Canada is 14, it is not hard to imagine that this ruling will lead to the exploitation of teenagers. Since case law in Canada defines indecent acts as behavior which has the potential to cause harm to the community, these judges are evidently tone deaf to the reality that such clubs will be little more than breeding grounds for the rapid spread of sexually transmitted diseases, with all the accompanying social devastation they cause.

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/dec/05122104.html

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

To be removed from the IVA Daily Update distribution list, please reply to this message with "Remove" in the subject line.

If you’d like to support the work of the IVA:

Idaho Values Alliance
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

Nativity Scene in Front of Boise City Hall

2005-12-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

NATIVITY SCENE IN FRONT OF BOISE CITY HALL

My good friend Brandi Swindell, who serves with me as a co-director of the Keep the Commandments Coalition, is planning, along with other citizens, to set up a nativity scene in front of Boise City Hall on Friday afternoon. City officials have so far raised no objection, saying, “At this point, we don’t see any problem with it.” Their acquiescence may have something to do with a desire to avoid tangling with their own citizens again over freedom of religious expression.

Ms. Swindell and the others who are helping her organize the event are doing it to celebrate Christmas and as a way of taking a stand for religious liberty. The groups plan to use the plaza from noon to 8 PM, with a carol sing tentatively scheduled for 7 PM.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051221/NEWS01/512210320

IVA IN THE NEWS

Local atheist Gary Bennett co-authored a Readers’ View piece which appears in today’s Idaho Statesman in which he goes after yours truly for a column of mine which appeared in the Statesman in November. If you read Gary’s column, don’t forget that Jefferson prayed at his own inauguration in Jesus’ name, ordered copies of the Bible and Isaac Watts’ book of hymns as his basic textbooks for the Washington D.C. public school system, regularly attended worship services in government buildings, and authorized the spending of federal monies to support Roman Catholic missionaries. How much “separation of church and state” you can detect in all that?

Also, an online news service, “The Church Report” published a brief story on our fight to protect the Ten Commandments in Boise.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051221/NEWS0503/512210315/1055

http://www.thechurchreport.com/content/view/742/67/

APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS TEN COMMANDMENTS, CRITICIZES ACLU

In a ruling that will not make Gary Bennett very happy, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Ten Commandments display in Kentucky yesterday, saying flatly, “The First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state.” Further, the ruling declared that the ACLU's “repeated reference 'to the separation of church and state' ... has grown tiresome.”

The display was defended successfully by Francis Manion of the ACLJ, the very attorney who offered to defend Boise’s Ten Commandments monument free of charge. Manion said, "For too long (we) have been lectured like children by those in the ACLU and elsewhere who claim to know what the people's Constitution really means. What the 6th Circuit has said is…that the Constitution does not require that we strip the public square of all vestiges of our religious heritage and traditions."

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/

article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48006

VICTORY FOR INTELLECTUAL TYRANNY IN PENNSYLVANIA

You will have heard by now of a judges’ ruling in Pennsylvania that the teaching of intelligent design theory in science classes is unconstitutional, even though the exposure to ID consisted of a one-minute statement that evolution is a theory, and that ID an alternative. That’s it! There are any number of problems with this decision.

For one thing, it is a blow against academic freedom and inquiry. Schools should be about investigation, exploration, and debate. This judge has censored a point of view he finds personally distasteful and in so doing has imposed his own form of intellectual tyranny and censorship on an educational institution. The judge’s decision has no force outside his own district in Pennsylvania, so is of no legal effect in Idaho, but you can bet the splashy coverage given to his decision will dampen free speech everywhere.

Secondly, it is impossible for the school’s policy to violate the First Amendment, because the First Amendment applies only to Congress. It was no part of the intent of the Founding Fathers to restrain anyone other than Congress with the passage of the First Amendment.

Thirdly, it is another triumph for judicial activism. The court ruled that intelligent design is not a “scientific” theory. But who made this judge more competent than school board officials to decide what is “scientific” and not? He is no more a scientist than they are, and no more qualified to make a determination of this kind. This did not stop him from accusing the school board of “breathtaking inanity.”

And where does a judge get any kind of legitimate authority to set academic policies for a school district? That is the responsibility of school boards, and they should be left alone to do the job citizens elected them to do. This is an issue that never should have made it into a courtroom in the first place.

Fourthly, the voters in Dover already voted all eight members who voted for the intelligent design policy off the school board. In other words, the voters of the Dover school district are perfectly capable of deciding whether they liked the policies of the current school board or not. Deciding they did not, they made their voice and will known at the ballot box. The new board would have almost certainly reversed the existing policy. And it would have been done without involving a single judge.

This is how decisions should be made in a representative republic – by elected representatives, not unaccountable judges. As one former school board member put it, “We didn’t lose; we were robbed.”

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038988.cfm

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

To be removed from the IVA Daily Update distribution list, please reply to this message with "Remove" in the subject line.

If you’d like to support the work of the IVA:

Idaho Values Alliance
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

Gay "Weddings" Begin This Week in Britain

2005-12-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

GAY “WEDDINGS” TO BEGIN THIS WEEK IN BRITAIN

Almost 700 same-sex couples plan to conduct "gay weddings" in Britain on Wednesday, the first day such ceremonies can take place. (A lesbian couple went through the first ceremony yesterday in Ireland, where the new law went into effect two days early.) Couples who enter into civil partnerships are granted almost all the same legal rights as married couples.

The Scotsman reports that Elton John turned down a $10 million offer from an American television company to cover his “wedding,” and also reports that a videotaped congratulatory message from former president Bill Clinton will be played during the ceremony.

There are a couple of things we can learn from Britain’s example. One, Idaho’s marriage amendment must expressly prohibit the recognition of “civil unions.” Such relationships, no matter what they are called in legal terms, are treated in the press and public perception as marriages. If we want marriage to be reserved for the union of a man and a woman, our amendment must deal unambiguously with marriage counterfeits.

The first gay couple to get “married” Wednesday in Scotland actually lives in Washington, D.C. With our courts increasingly citing international law in their decisions, it’s not hard to imagine a gay couple initiating a lawsuit demanding that their overseas “marriage” be recognized as valid in the U.S.

A second lesson is that once you abandon the one-man, one-woman standard, there is no logical place to stop. Pressure is already being put on British leaders to expand “civil partnerships” to include unmarried brothers and sisters, which of course in the end will make marriage an utterly meaningless concept and create even more societal confusion and more insecurity for vulnerable children.

http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/17/ngay17.xml

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2433372005

CORD BLOOD BILL PASSES AFTER CALLS FLOOD SEN. HARKIN’S OFFICE

I reported yesterday that Democratic leadership had filibustered a bill sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith that would have created a bank for umbilical cord blood, a non-controversial source of stem cells. After Sen. Harkin’s office was flooded with calls last Friday, he removed his hold yesterday and the bill passed the senate.

Umbilical cord blood is routinely discarded, but now, as Rep. Smith said, "We will now be able to turn medical waste… into medical miracles.” Adult stem cells from umbilical cord blood are already being used to treat diseases such as leukemia and sickle cell anemia.

This episode shows again that if enough ordinary citizens like you and me make our voices heard, we can have a decision-changing influence on our elected officials.

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038975.cfm

LEGISLATIVE VICTORIES ON SCHOOL CHOICE, BOY SCOUTS

In a major step forward for parental choice in education, a bill was passed yesterday that will provide up to $6000 per student in Katrina relief funds for displaced parents who send their children to private or religious schools. And the schools won’t have to jump over the hurdles Sen. Edward Kennedy previously tried to place in their way.

In a victory for the Boy Scouts, a Bill Frist-sponsored bill passed that assures that the Scouts will not be ousted from any military facilities where they have been given access.

(Source: Tony Perkins, Daily Briefing, Family Research Council)

TWENTY PERCENT OF U.S. ABORTIONS PERFORMED BY PLANNED PARENTHOOD

According to Planned Parenthood’s own annual report, it now performs about twenty percent of all abortions performed in the United States. The organization performed over 250,000 abortions in 2004, while it referred just 1400 women to adoption agencies.

This means that Planned Parenthood performed 180 abortions for every adoption referral it made. The most straightforward explanation for that discrepancy is that there is no money in adoption. PP operates 850 facilities nationwide, well short of their announced goal of 2000 facilities by the year 2000.

http://www.lifenews.com/nat1900.html

CHINA SELLS ORGANS OF EXECUTED PRISONERS FOR $40,000 - $60,000

Today’s Washington Times reports on a burgeoning trade in the sale of the kidneys and livers of executed prisoners to individuals in the West, including Britain. In a repressive regime like China’s, this raises the specter of executions being carried out to conform to surgery schedules, and of increasing numbers of death sentences to satisfy medical demands.

http://washingtontimes.com/world/20051219-115834-8584r.htm

TODAY’S CHRISTMAS QUOTE: FDR

As further evidence that the public acknowledgement of God is not and should not be a partisan affair, read these words from Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Christmas message of 1942: “To all Americans I say that loving our neighbor as we love ourselves is not enough- that we as a Nation and as individuals will please God best by showing regard for the laws of God. There is no better way of fostering good will toward man than by first fostering good will toward God. If we love Him we will keep His Commandments.”

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

To be removed from the IVA Daily Update distribution list, please reply to this message with "Remove" in the subject line.

If you’d like to support the work of the IVA:

Idaho Values Alliance
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

Origin of Christmas: Nothing to do with Paganism

2005-12-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

Monday, December 19, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

IVA IN THE NEWS

The Catholic News Agency included a story on our Boise battle for the Ten Commandments. The story deals specifically with our hearing before the Idaho state Supreme Court on Dec. 9. (After accessing the link below, you will have to scroll down to pick up our story.)

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/showarchive.php?date=2005-12-09

ORIGIN OF CHRISTMAS: NOTHING TO DO WITH PAGANISM

Despite the commonly accepted perception that Christians chose Dec. 25 to Christianize an already existing pagan festival, Gene Edward Veith, in the Dec. 10 issue of World Magazine, says there is no basis for that belief in historical fact.

Christians came up with the Dec. 25 date in a round about way. Using an obscure Jewish belief (not found in Scripture), that the date of the death of great prophets was connected to the date of their conception, the early church fathers identified March 25 as the day on which Christ was conceived. Nine months later, they reasoned, Christ was born on Dec. 25.

The truth, according to Veith, is that there were no winter solstice festivals in ancient Roman religions. One Roman emperor, Aurelian, tried unsuccessfully to start one on Dec. 25, 274 A.D., as an attempt to create a pagan alternative to a date already commemorated by Roman Christians. Thus the truth about Christmas is not that Christians were imitating pagans, but the other way round.

http://www.worldmag.com/geneedwardveith/veith.cfm?id=18584

MOST AMERICANS HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH CHRISTMAS

According to a new Gallup Poll, 97 percent of Americans don't mind public references to Christmas. And only 8 percent of non-Christians and 5 percent of those who identify themselves as having "no faith" report that they are bothered by advertising or other public statements that mention Christmas. As I’ve mentioned before, this is our response to those who say we should say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” to be more inclusive: “Ninety-six percent of Americans celebrate Christmas. It’s hard to get more inclusive than that.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20051216-125643-4064r.htm

SAN FRANCISCO “RENTING” CHRISTMAS TREES

To avoid environmental guilt, San Francisco is now renting living Christmas trees to residents, which are then planted after the Christmas season is over. The reason for the program: cutting down trees for a few weeks of pleasure is a “waste of resources.” My favorite part was a quote from a self-identified “tree-hugger” who rented three of the trees for his -- cabinet shop! How does he get past other tree-huggers to get the wood for his cabinets?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-16-rental-trees_x.htm

DEMOCRATS FILIBUSTER LIFE-SAVING LEGISLATION

Senators Harry Reid and Tom Harkin blocked passage of a bill late last week that would establish a national cord-blood registry and would boost the collection and maintenance of cord blood. Umbilical cord blood is a rich (and perfectly ethical) source of adult stem cells, which are already being used to treat over 60 medical conditions and diseases.

The Democratic leadership opposed it because of their insistence that language to expand embryonic stem cell research be included. This despite the fact that there is not one single proven therapeutic use of embryonic stem cells, and despite the fact that embryonic stem cell research is not ethically neutral because it always requires the destruction of a human embryo. As one legislator said, an embryo is “not a potential human being, but a human being with potential.”

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051216-125648-4055r_page2.htm

ACLU TO COURT TO ALLOW MUSLIMS TO SWEAR ON KORAN

Despite the fact that North Carolina state law specifies that oaths are to be taken on the “Holy Scriptures,” which clearly refers to the Bible, the ACLU is appealing a judge’s ruling prohibiting Muslims from taking oaths on the Koran.

State law allows someone to affirm to tell the truth while holding their hand upraised if they have a conscientious objection to taking an oath on the Bible, and the Muslim witness in question exercised that option. And of course, the ACLU could always appeal to the legislature to add the Koran to the statute.

But their strategy is virtually always to advance their cause through activist judges rather than through our elected representatives. They know that their views are so far out of the mainstream they’d never get most of them past the people who represent ordinary Americans like you and me.

Note the irony here. The ACLU, for all its blather about the separation of church and state, is looking for a judge, not to eliminate a religious book, but to force another one into court! Apparently the ACLU’s angst is not with religion in general but specifically with Christianity. In the ACLU’s view, other religions are welcome in the public square, but Christianity is not.

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051216/NEWSREC0101/512160306

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

To be removed from the IVA Daily Update distribution list, please reply to this message with "Remove" in the subject line.

If you’d like to support the work of the IVA:

Idaho Values Alliance
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

IVA Signs Letter to the President

2005-12-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

Friday, December 16, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

BRIEF REMARKS TO THE PACHYDERM CLUB IN COUER D’ALENE

Today’s daily dispatch is later than usual, as I had the privilege over breakfast this morning of briefly sharing the mission and strategy of the IVA with the 50 or so members of the Pachyderm Club of Coeur d’Alene. I also spent all day yesterday with like-minded businessmen and pastors here in the Coeur d’Alene area who share our values and believe in the work of the IVA. My visit to CDA is a part of our effort to make the IVA a truly statewide alliance.

WEBSITE NEARING COMPLETION

Our webmaster, David Hollander, is close to finishing the construction of the IVA website. David designed the number one website in the world – http://www.narniaweb.com/ – for the new “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” movie, and has been consumed with maintaining that leading up the premiere of the movie.

His Narnia website has been generating more traffic even than the studio’s own website – over 100,000 hits the weekend of the premiere alone. I’ll let you know as soon as the website is functional, but you are going to like it.

The web address will be: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.com/

IVA SIGNS LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT

The Idaho Values Alliance has been invited to add our signature to a letter being sent to President Bush by the Family Research Council, which we have done. The letter will be signed not only by the IVA but also by pro-family groups all across America. The letter urges President Bush to address the topic of a federal marriage amendment in this year’s State of the Union address.

The letter reminds the president that a federal judge in Nebraska, in the first ruling of its kind, overturned that state’s marriage amendment even though was passed by the people of Nebraska overwhelmingly (70-30). This makes it clear that we must amend not only our state constitution but the federal constitution as well if we are to insulate the definition and recognition of marriage from activist judges at all levels.

LONG-TERM PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ABORTION

When a woman walks into an abortion clinic, the casualty count is always the same: one dead, one wounded. Although protecting access to abortion is billed as woman’s rights issue, evidence continues to accumulate that abortion is in reality harmful to women.

A study recently completed in Norway reveals the long-term mental and emotional damage caused by abortion. Women who have abortions suffer from mental anxiety, guilt, shame, and distress years later. Those negative emotional feelings can last as long as five years after the abortion or even longer.

Right now there is no informed consent legislation in Idaho to ensure women are made aware of the full range of physical and psychological risks they run when they seek abortions. The IVA will work alongside other pro-family and pro-life groups this year to see if something can be done on this issue for the women of Idaho.

http://www.lifenews.com/nat1895.html

CLONING PIONEER ACCUSED OF FALSIFYING DATA

First, an American scientist quit the human cloning project of South Korean scientist Dr. Hwang Woo Suk, because of his concern that coercion and financial inducements had been used to obtain eggs from female project staffers. Now questions have been raised about photographs that appear to be duplicates of each other and about possible pressure on lab scientists to fake project data.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council points out the diabolical inconsistency over this sudden concern for ethics. “Why,” he says, “is it unethical to fabricate evidence, but not unethical to try to fabricate a human being?”

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/47855.html

AMERICAN HISTORY QUOTE OF THE DAY

After the Boston Tea Party, the men of Marlborough, Massachusetts, declared: "Death is more eligible than slavery. A free-born people are not required by the religion of Jesus Christ to submit to tyranny, but may make use of such power as God has given them to recover and support their liberties... We implore the Ruler above the skies that He would bare His arm...and let Israel go."

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

To be removed from the IVA Daily Update distribution list, please reply to this message with "Remove" in the subject line.

If you’d like to support the work of the IVA:

Idaho Values Alliance
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

Disagreement is not Hatred

2005-12-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

Thursday, December 15, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

FURTHER NOTE ON TONE OF PUBLIC DIALOGUE

It’s important to remember that disagreement is not hatred. It is perfectly possible to disagree strongly with others on an issue without being disagreeable, hating them, or even disliking them. Yet you will find many on the left side of the political spectrum who seem to believe that, if you disagree with them, you are, by definition, guilty of hate.

It often does not matter how cogent our argument is, or how much logic, research, history, and reason is on our side, the simple fact that we have not aligned ourselves with their worldview will bring against us the accusation of hatred and intolerance.

I would suggest that when a critic immediately charges us with hatred, it is quite likely a tacit admission on his part that he cannot refute the rationality and substance of our arguments, and so must resort to ad hominem attacks on our character to silence us.

For instance, a woman in England was investigated last week for a possible “homophobic incident” for saying on a radio program that gay couples should not be allowed to adopt. The on-air reason she gave is a good one – children need both a mother and a father, and homosexual couples by definition are missing one or the other.

But a Metropolitan Police spokesman justified the investigation by saying that homophobic incidents are "priority crimes". No effort was made to refute this woman’s argument that children need both a mother and a father. She was instead immediately accused of a hate crime and efforts were made to silence her and even incarcerate her.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/city/2005/12/13/950cead1-2ce9-4fa7-b502-084bc65ea6a3.lpf

GROSS NEGLIGENCE AT PLANNED PARENTHOOD?

An eleven-year-old girl walked into a Planned Parenthood affiliate in California some time ago after being forcibly raped by a seventeen-year-old boy. Planned Parenthood neither reported the crime, nor informed the little girl’s parents.

According to California state statistics, almost 70% of teen births are children of adult men, and teenage girls are twice as likely to have sexually transmitted diseases as teenage boys. The state of Kansas is already investigating Planned Parenthood for its apparent failure to report sex crimes committed against underage girls by older males.

(Source: Tony Perkins, Family Research Council Daily Briefing)

POLYGAMY NEXT?

Pro-family groups have consistently made the point that once a culture abandons the standard that marriage is exclusively the union of one man and one women, there is no place to stop. If there is no restriction on the sex of marriage partners, why should there by any restriction on the number of them?

The ACLU and the National Libertarian Party are already on record in support of polygamy, and it may not be long before a court finds a way, using the same reasoning gay activists have used, to declare that the Constitution contains a right to marry multiple partners.

An appellate court in New Jersey recognized these dangers earlier this year when the majority said, “The same form of constitutional attack that plaintiffs mount against statutes limiting the institution of marriage to members of the opposite sex also could be made against statutes prohibiting polygamy.”

http://www.family.org/resources/itempg.cfm?itemid=4652&refcd=CE05LCZL&tvar=no

~ A NEWLY RELEASE GALLUP POLL REVEALS THAT 94% OF AMERICANS BELIEVE GOD EXISTS. Even 61% of self-identified liberals not only believe that he exists, but have retained a “strong belief” in God.

A Harris Interactive poll revealed that 70 percent of Americans think that Jesus is the son of God, and 66 percent believe in his resurrection.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/

article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001659292

http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/051214225639.uuzs121w.html

THE WASHINGTON STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS CATCHING some heat for posting an anti-Christian bumper sticker for sale on its website. The item — a magnetic version of the fish, emblazoned with flames and the word "Hypocrite" alongside a cross — was pulled from the website when talk radio and Blogs began to raise public awareness.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/

localnews/2002682385_fish14m.html

PC CHRISTMAS UPDATE

~ THE WISCONSIN SCHOOL THAT REWROTE “SILENT NIGHT” to remove all references to Christ has recanted after receiving an overwhelming number of calls and emails, and has restored the original lyrics to the song for the school’s Christmas program.

Imagine for a moment being invited to a civil rights rally next January in connection with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but being told that no one is allowed to display his picture, mention his name, or quote from any of his speeches. Banishing Christ from Christmas is no less bizarre.

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47907

~ MANAGERS IN CHARGE OF TWO FEDERALLY SUBSIDIZED HOUSING FACILITIES have told residents in one case they cannot sing Christmas carols, and in another they can't decorate their own entry doors with religious symbols.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47892

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/

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The Tone in our Public Dialogue

2005-12-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

THE TONE IN OUR PUBLIC DIALOGUE

One of the things the IVA will strive to do in our participation in the public dialogue over values is to elevate the level and the tone of public discourse. We’re all too familiar with heightened rhetoric, baseless charges, and character assassination.

What we will seek to do is keep the discussion focused on values, convictions, and philosophy rather than on personalities. We want to engage in an honest, and if necessary robust, discussion about the values we are going to embrace as a culture. But we will treat every adversary in the arena of ideas with respect and kindness.

A vigorous and healthy republic gives its citizens the freedom to have strongly held differences of opinion with other citizens. People have firm convictions on these matters, because they recognize that they are important. Our goal is to be a constructive part of that dialogue without demeaning or belittling anyone.

For instance, I have made clear to Alan Shealy that my disagreement with him is not at all personal. I have no dislike or animosity toward Alan whatsoever. My daughter and I ran into Alan and his son at a sandwich shop not too long ago, and had a very cordial if brief exchange. I bear him absolutely no ill will.

It was timely for us to revisit Mr. Shealy’s role in the removal of the Ten Commandments monument in last Friday’s update, because it sheds some light on how we got from Julia Davis Park to the Idaho Supreme Court. Ordinary citizens in Boise, after first being denied a voice, were then denied even a vote on the return of the Ten Commandments to public display. It’s worth asking where this implacable opposition to the very foundation of western civilization is coming from.

WHERE DO OUR RIGHTS COME FROM?

My issue of concern with Alan has only to do with his governing philosophy of public policy. Whether a man believes that our rights are given to us by our Creator is perhaps the most important thing we can know about a public official or a candidate for public office. If a public official believes that God has given to you and me inalienable rights which government is bound to respect, that conviction will serve as a restraint on potential abuses of power.

If, on the other hand, a man believes that man receives his rights from government – that is, from him and his colleagues – then there will follow a certain lack of restraint which is inevitable when power is exercised without ultimate accountability. It is a path that historically has always led to tyranny in the end. If a man’s public statements and public conduct raise legitimate questions about his convictions on these matters, it is certainly appropriate for his constituents to ask him for clarification.

Mr. Shealy has made it clear to me that he believes religious values have no role in governance at any level, and he will not acknowledge that God is the source of our rights. From what he has written to me, he evidently believes that our Founding Fathers are the source of our rights. Well, they are not around to protect those rights any longer.

As Thomas Jefferson said, “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?”

GIFTS TO THE IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE

The IVA is in the process of applying to the IRS for our status as a 501[c]3 organization. While the application is being processed, donations are considered tax deductible by the IRS.

Please keep the IVA in mind as you make end-of-the-year giving plans. If you’d like to contribute, you may use the address listed below. Thank you!

IN NORTH IDAHO FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS

Our goal is to make the IVA a statewide organization. To that end, I’ll be in north Idaho for the remainder of the week, and so my daily updates may be abbreviated on Thursday and Friday.

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

To be removed from the IVA Daily Update distribution list, please reply to this message with "Remove" in the subject line.

If you’d like to support the work of the IVA:

Idaho Values Alliance
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

Councilman Shealy Responds

2005-12-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

COUNCILMAN SHEALY RESPONDS

On Friday, I detailed for you Boise city councilman Alan Shealy’s role in the removal of the Ten Commandments monument from Julia Davis Park. I mentioned the fact that Alan does not participate in the opening invocation, nor does he say the words “under God” when the council recites the Pledge. Mr. Shealy responded with a comment which has been posted on the IVA Blog. I’ve excerpted one part of his comment below. If you’d like to read his full post, you can do so at:

http://idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/2005/12/anti-christian-bias-behind-ten.html

Here is an excerpt from his reply:

“While studying the Bible in a grammar school course and during the church sermons of my youth, I learned and took to heart the Christian message of love, compassion, tolerance, and acceptance of those who differ from us in body and mind. Apparently this is a notion that is absent in your particular version of the faith…True Christians chafe at and are embarrassed by the torrent of dark, hypocritical bigotry that flows ceaselessly in your words and postings. They are the sort of rants that animate so much hatred and bloodletting in our world. They are shameful.”

See how much “love, compassion, tolerance, and acceptance of those who differ from us” you can find in the last three sentences.

You will notice that Alan makes no mention of his omission of “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance in his comment. This raises an important question about where Mr. Shealy believes our rights come from. I’ve asked Mr. Shealy that question directly, and so far he has refused to answer.

The Founders believed that God was the source of our rights, and thus no man and no government could legitimately take them from us. If Mr. Shealy does not believe our rights come from God, then he must believe they come from some other source, such as government. That properly should be the concern of every thinking citizen.

FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES SPONSORS MPC BOWL BREAKFAST

Former Seattle Seahawk and Boise State Bronco David Hughes will be the keynote speaker at a breakfast sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at 8:00 AM on Dec. 27 at the Doubletree Riverside. The breakfast is in conjunction with the MPC Bowl to be played the next day in Bronco Stadium, and the breakfast will feature testimonies of the life-changing power of faith by players from both Boise State and Boston College. My son and I will be attending, and I hope you will too.

For more information, and to purchase tickets, contact local FCA Director Ken Lewis at (208) 697-1051 or (208) 465-3690, or by email at klewis@fca.org. About 350,000 student athletes nationwide participate in FCA.

TOOKIE WILLIAMS EXECUTED, FAMILIES RECEIVE LONG-AWAITED JUSTICE

In the days before his execution for the murders of four people, much of the public conversation was about granting clemency and mercy to Mr. Williams. He became the central focus of the talk about compassion.

But we must never forget that justice is a form of mercy and compassion to the victims of crime. When the state uses the authority God has delegated to it to punish evil, it does a good and right thing, and brings some measure of relief, satisfaction, and closure to the victims of crime. When the state fails to execute justice, it adds anguish to the already heavy hearts of the families of victims, who must deal not only with the loss of a loved one but also with the failure of the system to act on their behalf. One of the strongest proponents of having Mr. Williams’ sentence carried out is the stepmother of the 26-year old store clerk Mr. Williams’ shot twice in the back.

We must never forget the impact on the souls of survivors if those who murder their loved ones are never brought to ultimate accountability for their deeds. Perhaps seeing that justice is done on their behalf is the greatest expression of mercy and compassion we can make. The appropriate application of the death penalty is not state-sanctioned murder, it is God-ordained justice.

TARGET CALLS OFF ITS OWN BAN ON CHRISTMAS

In response to overwhelming feedback from ordinary Americans like you and me, Target has called off its own ban on Christmas, and consumers can expect to see Christmas referenced in some of its upcoming advertising. If you do some Christmas shopping at your local Target this week, ask for the manager and tell him how much you appreciate the store including Christmas again. A member of the IVA informed me that she saw a Target TV commercial last night which had “Merry Christmas” as a tag line. Together, we can make a difference!

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/

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If you’d like to support the work of the IVA:

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Tookie Williams and the Death Penalty

2005-12-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

Monday, December 12, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

JUDEO-CHRISTIAN TRADITION SUPPORTS THE DEATH PENALTY

The final fate of Tookie Williams may be decided today. He is scheduled for execution after being convicted for four murders in two separate robberies in 1979. Celebrities and death penalty opponents are clamoring for clemency.

Yet our system of jurisprudence (and the thinking of the IVA) is built upon the Judeo-Christian tradition, and it is clear in this tradition that capital punishment is an appropriate penalty for murder.

These are the words of God as recorded in Genesis 9:5-6:

5] “For your lifeblood I will require a reckoning…from his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

6] Whoever sheds the blood of man,
By man shall his blood be shed,
For God made man in his own image.”

God is here on record that capital punishment is morally necessary and right. He requires that it be carried out, because murder involves destroying what God has made in his own image and likeness. It is clear also that he has delegated authority to man to carry out capital punishment – “by man shall his blood be shed.”

THOU SHALT NOT KILL?

Some will cite the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” as if it prohibited killing of all kinds. But this command is better translated “You shall not murder,” as all modern translations and our Jewish friends do. Neither killing in war nor capital punishment is barred here. The commandment is a prohibition only against murder, against the taking of human life without just cause.

In the Christian Scriptures, the apostle Paul says, “If you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer." (Romans 13:4) The sword was a lethal weapon, an instrument of capital punishment, and a proper tool of justice in the hands of civil authority. Thus capital punishment is supported both by the Old and New Testaments.

“BLOODSHED POLLUTES THE LAND”

As Israel was prepared to enter the land of promise, Moses warned them, “Bloodshed pollutes that land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it." (Numbers 35:33)

There is a kind of moral corrosion that is released into a society by murder, a corruption whose spread will in time poison an entire people if swift and sure justice is not carried out. When the death of the innocent goes unpunished, it gives a foothold in any culture to a spirit of violence and bloodshed . The spread of that toxin can only be stopped through capital punishment.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT A DETERRENT?

The writer of Ecclesiastes points out that the death penalty is an effective deterrent, but only if it is carried out swiftly. “When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong." (Eccl. 8:11)

Unfortunately, in our current judicial system the guilty often can stave off execution for years and years through repeated appeals. The death penalty loses its deterrent effect because too much time passes between crime and punishment Mr. Williams, for instance, has been on death row since 1981. The families of his victims have been waiting for justice for almost 27 years.

Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in April of 1865. By August of that year, those who had conspired together to murder him had been apprehended, tried, convicted, and hanged. The assassin who murdered the president in 1901 was apprehended, tried, convicted, and hanged within six weeks of the crime. It is certainly time to consider shortening the appeals process to hasten the day of justice.

CONVICTING THE INNOCENT?

There is still no evidence that an innocent man has ever been executed in the U.S. But one of the reasons we occasionally find the innocent convicted of other crimes is that we have abandoned biblical standards of evidence. In Israel’s civil code, no one could be executed based on circumstantial evidence, or on the evidence of just one witness.

“On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness." (Deuteronomy 17:6). Ignoring this standard of evidence is how innocent people wind up convicted for crimes they did not commit. It goes without saying that capital cases should require that the highest standards of evidence be met.

WHAT ABOUT THE COST?

Death penalty opponents often cite the expense of the death penalty as a reason to abandon it. Yet the excessive cost is due only to the lengthy and excessive appeals process, which can postpone carrying out a death sentence for decades. If the appeals process is trimmed to a more reasonable length, there is no reason why carrying out a death sentence would be any more expensive than carrying out any other form of justice.

In fact, in the end it would be a far less costly form of punishment to American taxpayers, who would not be forced to provide food, shelter, and clothing for convicted murderers for the rest of their natural lives.

THE ULTIMATE PRO-LIFE POSITION

Although there are differences of opinion even in the faith community over a proper understanding of the death penalty (for instance, my friends in the Roman Catholic tradition take a different position), it is my view that capital punishment represents the ultimate pro-life view. When we use the death penalty, we are saying that this culture values human life so much that if a man takes a life without just cause, he must forfeit his own life in consequence. To fail to exact the death penalty for murder cheapens the value we place on life.

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/

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If you’d like to support the work of the IVA:

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PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

Special Report on Ten Commandments Hearing

2005-12-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

Friday, December 9, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

SPECIAL REPORT: ORAL ARGUMENTS BEFORE IDAHO SUPREME COURT

We are cautiously optimistic after today’s hearing before the Idaho Supreme Court, and think that the chances are fairly good that the Court will order the city of Boise to hold an election on our Ten Commandments initiative.

Our attorney, Christ Troupis, did an excellent job of making our case that there are fundamental voting rights at stake in this matter, and that the city essentially disenfranchised every registered voter who signed the petition by refusing its legal obligation to place the initiative on the ballot. He reminded the Court that the initiative process goes all the way back to the days when colonists found King George to be unresponsive to their concerns, and has had a historic place in our culture as a way for the people to redress grievances.

Boise’s attorney concentrated on the city’s position that the initiative was invalid because it deals with an administrative issue, not a legislative one. Yet she had difficulty spelling out clearly for the court what the difference between the two is, and at one point said that even a city ordinance is not necessarily a legislative act. Virtually everyone in the courtroom was confused about the difference by the end of oral arguments.

Both Chief Justice Schroeder and Justice Eismann pressed the city attorney on this point: If there is some uncertainty about whether an initiative is legislative or administrative, shouldn’t justice come down on the side of the constitutional right of the people to participate in democracy through the initiative process?

Justice Eismann directly asked the city attorney at one point whether “all political power is inherent in the people.” She, of course, was forced to answer in the affirmative. We agree, and if political power does inherently rest in the people, then the people should have the right to use the initiative process to express their will and use it as a check on the improper or unwise use of civil authority.

The city essentially tried to paint this entire issue is a trivial, little administrative issue, rather than an issue of fundamental religious liberty and freedom of expression. The city attorney at one point compared the Ten Commandments monument to a swing set. Well, I can assure you that there are no swing sets engraved on the walls of the United States Supreme Court. And trivial, little, administrative matters do not make it to the U.S. Supreme Court, as two Ten Commandments cases did this summer.

So all in all, I believe we have reason for quiet optimism. It may be anywhere from one to three months before the Court issues its ruling, and until then we can continue to wait and to pray.

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/

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To be removed from the IVA Daily Update distribution list, please reply to this message with "Remove" in the subject line.

If you’d like to support the work of the IVA:

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Boise, ID 83711

Anti-Christian Bias Behind Ten Commandments Removal?

2005-12-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

Friday, December 9, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

ANTI-CHRISTIAN BIAS BEHIND ORIGINAL TEN COMMANDMENTS REMOVAL?

As I have mentioned, the Idaho state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on our Ten Commandments initiative today. You’re welcome to attend. The Supreme Court building is two blocks east of the State Capitol building on State Street. The hearing begins at 10:00 AM and will last for one hour.

Our initiative became necessary because the Boise City Council removed an existing Ten Commandments monument from Julia Davis Park, which had been in place since 1965. It was identical to the monument declared constitutional this summer by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Although the city claims it removed the monument simply to avoid becoming entangled in a lawsuit, it is hard not to suspect that a significant amount of the energy behind its decision is an anti-Christian bias.

The deal which resulted in the removal of the monument was engineered by city councilman Alan Shealy, a relative newcomer to Boise from the east coast. Mr. Shealy takes full responsibility for the decision that took this symbol of transcendent values out of the public square.

The Boise City Council opens its evening meetings with an invocation offered by a local clergyman. Immediately following the invocation, everyone in attendance faces the American flag and recites the Pledge of Allegiance together.

Mr. Shealy’s custom is quite pointedly not to participate in the invocation. While every other council member bows his head and adopts some posture of respect for this custom, Mr. Shealy either glares defiantly at the pastor giving the invocation, stares at the back wall, or nonchalantly allows his eyes to wander about the room.

When the Pledge is recited, Mr. Shealy customarily refuses to say the words “under God.” He closes his mouth and does not open it again until everyone else present has uttered the phrase. It’s not a stretch to see in these actions a hostility toward religious expression, and difficult not to think that Mr. Shealy’s animus against Christianity played some significant role in our city’s loss of this cultural artifact.

Mr. Shealy certainly has the right to refuse to participate in any activity he chooses, and Boise voters have the right to take that into consideration when they go to the polls in 2007.

ANTI-CHRISTIAN BIAS BEHIND TENT CITY FOR HOMELESS IN BOISE?

Boise Rescue Mission director Bill Roscoe wrote an excellent Reader’s View piece that appeared in yesterday’s Idaho Statesman. He debunks several of the myths that critics of the Rescue Mission have been promoting. First, despite the fact that advocates are claiming that dozens of people die of exposure every year, the Ada County coroner can not confirm even one such death in the last year.

He refutes the utterly false accusation that the Boise Rescue Mission does not make its services available to the physically or mobility impaired. And he categorically refutes the accusation that the Rescue Mission puts “overt pressure (on the homeless) to participate in religious services or meetings as a condition to receiving shelter or food.”

Mr. Roscoe said that anyone who claims they’ve been denied food or shelter because they didn’t want to attend a chapel service is “lying to you through their teeth.”

The staff of the Rescue Mission do what they do motivated by their faith in God and their conviction that a faith-based approach to homelessness is the only one that ultimately will succeed, as men and women transfer their dependence from themselves and from the state to God. They should be commended and encouraged rather than criticized and challenged.

According to a front-page story in today’s Idaho Statesman, a group of left-leaning religious leaders in Boise is proposing a tent village for the homeless to provide an alternative to the Rescue Mission. While every effort to minister to the homeless is commendable, the Statesman quotes Bill Roscoe: “There is no crisis for shelter right now.” There is space available at both River of Life and the Rescue Mission. Thus the motivation for the tent village may have as much to do with an aversion to the Rescue Mission’s faith-based approach as it does with the actual need of the homeless in Boise.

Bill Roscoe column:
http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/NEWS0503/512080330/1055

Story on proposed tent village:
http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/NEWS01/512090353

THE ONLY NATIVITY SCENE ON CAPITOL HILL

The office of the Christian Defense Coalition and our good friend Rev. Patrick Mahoney stands right behind the United States Supreme Court building. Yesterday, Pat and his colleague, Rev. Rob Schenk, set up, in front of their office, the only nativity scene on all of Capitol Hill. U.S. Supreme Court justice David Souter stopped to view the display yesterday.

Since front yards are considered public property in D.C., a challenge is expected from city officials.

http://www.earnedmedia.org/ncc1208.htm

CHRISTMAS UPDATES

The tree in the student union building at Purdue University is once again a “Christmas tree” after spending one day as a “Union tree,” whatever that is. And Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the three wise men have been returned to the nativity scene in a Memphis library. And facing the threat of a lawsuit, two Florida cities allowed a nativity scene to be added to a park display that included a menorah and a Christmas tree.

CLARIFICATION ON NORTH IDAHO MEETING

If you live in the Coeur d’Alene area, you are invited to a meeting next Thursday night, Dec. 15, that Jim Hollingsworth has arranged at the CDA IHOP to find out a little bit more about the Idaho Values Alliance. The scheduled meeting will begin at 6:30 PM, but there will be an informal time of conversation from 5:00-6:30 PM for those who would like to drop by but may have a scheduling conflict at 6:30 PM. I hope to see you there!

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

To be removed from the IVA Daily Update distribution list, please reply to this message with "Remove" in the subject line.

If you’d like to support the work of the IVA:

Idaho Values Alliance
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

At Stake Tomorrow: Your Right to Vote

2005-12-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, December 7, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

AT STAKE TOMORROW: YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE

Tomorrow at 10:00 AM the Idaho Supreme Court will hear our appeal on our Ten Commandments initiative. We collected almost 19,000 signatures in 2004 to place an initiative before Boise voters to give them an opportunity to vote on whether or not they would like to place a new Ten Commandments display in Julia Davis Park. The city found an activist judge (Ronald Wilper) who used an inventive legal technicality to block our right to vote, essentially disenfranchising every registered voter who signed our petition.

But the United States Supreme Court has stated that “the right to vote freely…is of the essence of a democratic society,” and “…the ballot initiative…is a basic instrument of democratic government.” A concurring opinion in an earlier Idaho Supreme Court decision said that “voting is one of the most fundamental and cherished liberties in our democratic system of government.”

All we’re asking for is our day at the ballot box. We believe, as Abraham Lincoln did, that government should be ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people.’ We’ll respect the will of the people as expressed through their vote, and we ask the mayor and city council to do the same.

We’re optimistic that the court will rule in our favor, and order the city of Boise to hold the election the law requires. Justice delayed is justice denied, and we’ve been waiting for justice for almost a year and a half.

The display we propose has already been vetted and approved judicially. It is identical to a display in front of the Bannock County Courthouse that was ruled constitutional by federal judge Edward Lodge in 1995, and the Constitution hasn’t changed in the last 10 years.

You’re welcome to attend. The Supreme Court building is two blocks east of the state capitol building on State Street, and just one block east of the old (not the new!) Ada County Courthouse, which itself is just east of the state capitol . The main entrance is on State Street. The hearing will last for one hour.

UNIVERSAL PRE-K NOT GOOD FOR CHILDREN, FAMILIES

A proposal will come before the Idaho Legislature next year to implement a universal pre-kindergarten program. The IVA believes that such programs actually undermine the family and are not in the best interests of children themselves, and therefore we will need to use what influence we have to resist passage of this legislation.

Policy makers in Idaho should always recognize that the family is the fundamental unit in society and see to it that public policy does what is best for parents and their children. The state should avoid establishing policies that pull young children away from their parents and increase the already burdensome tax load that Idaho families carry.

Young children do best when raised in their own homes with their mothers (and fathers) as primary caregivers, educators, and shapers of character. Our public polices should make it as easy as possible for mothers to stay home with their children.

This legislation would pull children as young as three away from their mothers in what amounts to taxpayer-funded daycare. You always get more of what you subsidize, and so if you want to pull three-year-old children away from their mothers, the best way to do that is through state-funded pre-K programs.

Furthermore, such a program would be enormously expensive, and very likely would require a tax hike as it is unlikely that its cost would be offset by reductions in state spending elsewhere. The teacher’s union is already proposing to raise the sales tax by a whopping 20 percent to sink more money into already existing public school programs.

I’ve referred before to a recently released study done by UC Berkeley and Stanford, which indicated that preschool attendance has a positively harmful affect on the emotional and social development of children. It stunts their emotional development and tends to produce an increase in anti-social behaviors. The small cognitive gains that children make in pre-school are not worth the trade-offs.

If we care about what is best for Idaho’s children, we will work for policies that give parents more time with their children, not less.

LATEST CHRISTMAS PC NONSENSE

A public school in Wisconsin actually rewrote the lyrics to “Silent Night” (the most recorded song in history) so their children would not be traumatized by actually having to sing about Christmas. (Classrooms at the school are decorated with Santa Claus, Kwanzaa symbols, menorahs and Labafana, a mythical witch that's a part of traditional Christmas celebrations in Italy. )

Here’s the new and improved first stanza:

"Cold in the night, no one in sight/winter winds whirl and bite/How I wish I were happy and warm/safe with my family, out of the storm." Doesn’t quite have the same feel, does it?

And the News-Tribune of Tacoma, Wash., reports that a Seattle-area school district recalled 11,500 copies of its December lunch menus because they were printed with the greeting “Merry Christmas.”

The Christmas tree in the Purdue Memorial Union's Great Hall is being called the "Union tree,” after the University got heat last year for calling it a “holiday tree.” Let's see what kind of heat that generates.

As an FYI: the last presidential Christmas card to actually mention Christmas was sent in 1992 by President Bush’s father.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47784

A LITTLE CHRISTMAS HUMOR

A woman goes to the post office to buy stamps for her Christmas cards. She says to the clerk, "May I have 50 Christmas stamps?" The clerk says, "What denomination?" The woman says, "God help us. Has it come to this? Give me 6 Catholic, 12 Presbyterian, 10 Lutheran and 22 Baptists."

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

To be removed from the IVA Daily Update distribution list, please reply
to this message with "Remove" in the subject line.

If you’d like to support the work of the IVA:

Idaho Values Alliance
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

Idaho Challenge to Tyranny of Evolution?

2005-12-07T09:07:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, December 7, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/ (Note: new Blog address)

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

NOTE TO FRIENDS IN NORTHERN IDAHO

Our goal is to make the Idaho Values Alliance a truly statewide organization. To that end, I’ll be in northern Idaho at the end of next week to make new friends and chat about the mission and strategy of the IVA. Jim Hollingsworth has reserved a room for us at the IHOP in Coeur d’Alene for next Thursday evening, December 15, from 5:00-6:30 PM. If you’d like to come, you can simply reply to this email. It would be great to have you there!

IDAHO CHALLENGE TO THE TYRANNY OF EVOLUTION?

Darwinism is a bankrupt theory intellectually, scientifically, and morally, and a direct challenge to the “self-evident” truth recognized by our Founding Fathers that there is a Creator and that he has endowed us with certain inalienable rights.

A medical doctor in Boise is seeking to build a forum of scientists who would come together to work on behalf of a “teach the controversy” approach to the evolution/intelligent design controversy in Idaho schools.

The forum is open to scientists who share the following convictions:

1. Evolution is not the only, or perhaps even the best, explanation for origin of life questions.

2. Tim White (U of I president) was wrong to censor academic freedom in the University of Idaho science classroom, specifically regarding questions of intelligent design in biology.

3. The Idaho state science teaching standards do not reflect the accurate understanding of science in regard to origins, and ought to be amended to at least "teach the controversy," including critical evaluation of evolution theory strength and weaknesses.

The goals of this forum would be to revise the state science teaching standards to incorporate teaching of the controversy about neo-Darwinism, including critical thinking about its strengths and weaknesses, and to reverse Dr. White’s administrative decision at the U of I to “teach only evolution” in science classes, which has the chilling effect of academic censorship.

If you are interested in joining this forum, please contact Dr. Bryan Pogue at bpoguemd@qwest.net. You will notice that the goal of this forum is simply to urge an honest evaluation of both the strengths and weakness of the theory of evolution, not to abolish the teaching of evolution or replace it with the teaching of intelligent design.

Certainly our institutions of education, which are supposed to be about academic freedom and inquiry, should welcome such a pursuit. It’s fascinating to watch those who claim to be about following the evidence wherever it leads resolutely seek to silence any voices that would challenge a clearly troubled scientific hypothesis.

TARGET BACKING DOWN?

According to the American Family Association, the New York Times is reporting that Target is now saying it did not intend to ban Christmas, and might even use “Christmas” in advertisements later this year. I do not think it is a stretch at all to say that this change in direction has come about because ordinary people like you and me have expressed our opinions to the decision makers at Target. Those of you who called Target’s CEO a couple of weeks ago share in the credit.

In another piece of good news, Sears is putting up "Merry Christmas" signs in their stores. A new book by John Gibson, “The War on Christmas,” is replete with instances of the repressive march of political correctness against the acknowledgement of Christmas.

(Source: American Family Association)

THE TRUE STORY OF ST. NICHOLAS

William Federer records the history that lies behind the modern tradition of St. Nick and Santa Clause. It makes for intriguing reading. Yes, Virginia, there is a St. Nicholas.

“His name was Nicholas and he was born to a wealthy, elderly couple in what is now Turkey in the 3rd century AD. When his parents died, he inherited great wealth and gained a reputation for helping the poor. Reportedly, one night he threw gold in the window of a bankrupt merchant, who used it as a dowry for his daughters to marry, thus saving them from the fate of being taken by the creditors. The father caught Nicholas, who made him promise not to reveal the source of the gift, thus inspiring the tradition of secret gift-giving on the anniversary of his death.

“Nicholas entered a monastery and eventually was ordained Bishop of the coastal city of Myra. He was known for miraculous answers to prayer, confronting "Diana" worship and being imprisoned during Roman Emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians. When Constantine ended the persecution, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea and helped write the Nicene Creed.

A true Saint, Nicholas died…December 6, 343AD. Early American writer Washington Irving, creator of Rip Van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, was instrumental in transforming Saint Nicholas into jolly ol' St. Nick!”

LIBRARY PULLS EVERYTHING FROM NATIVITY SCENE EXCEPT STABLE ANIMALS, SHEPHERD BOY

In the latest example of PC nonsense, a library in Memphis Tennessee pulled Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the wise men from a nativity scene, saying they were “inappropriate,” and leaving just three stable animals and a shepherd boy on display. The nativity scene was part of an announcement for a local church’s Christmas program, placed on a shelf reserved for announcements of community events. So much for libraries being bastions of free speech and expression!

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47767

FLORIDA CITY WILL RECONSIDER BAN ON NATIVITY SCENE

Wellington, Florida has a holiday display that includes a Christmas tree and a menorah, but pointedly excludes a nativity scene. Following a national outcry and calls and emails running 10-1 in favor of adding a crèche to the display, the city council has now decided to reconsider its decision next Tuesday. As one local pastor said, when interviewed on the O’Reilly Factor, “To me, it seems like there is kind of an undercurrent of anti-Christianity.”

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbcwest/content/
local_news/epaper/2005/12/07/w1b_nativity_1207.html

FOX NEWS POLL: 83% BELIEVE NATIVITY SCENES SHOULD BE PERMITTED ON PUBLIC PROPERTY

A poll commissioned by Fox News revealed that 83% of Americans believe that Nativity scenes should be permitted on public property. Since there is nothing unconstitutional about Nativity scenes or Christmas trees or menorahs (the Constitution is silent on all three), the only reason the public display of Nativity scenes is an issue is because of activist judges.

True religious liberty would lead to allowing city fathers to make these decisions without having judges make these decisions for them, or without city fathers having to fear that they will get dragged into court as a result.

One of the little appreciated aspects of judicial activism is that it produces an untold number of decisions at all levels of society which restrict freedom of religion and speech simply out of a fear of legal action, or out of an overabundance of caution. That reality alone betrays the existence of an out-of-control judiciary.

Even the Boise City Council claimed their decision to remove the Ten Commandments monument from Julia Davis Park was based on the fear of a lawsuit. But why would the threat of a lawsuit even exist in the first place if were not for a hyperactive judiciary?

On other religious liberty issues, 93 percent of respondents to this poll said “In God we trust” should remain on U.S. currency, 90 percent said “under God” should remain in the Pledge of Allegiance, 82 percent said voluntary school prayer should be restored, and 76 percent said it should be legal to post the Ten Commandments on public property.

(Source: Citizen Link, Focus on the Family)

HOLIDAY CALENDAR, 2025

Stuart Shepard, managing editor of Citizen Link, an online publication of Focus on the Family, suggests that if current PC trends continue, here are some of the holidays we will celebrate in the year 2025:

January 1 -- Celebrate the First Day of Whatever Calendar Your Personal
Tradition May Choose Day

February 14 -- Significant Other Person or Object Day

March 17 -- Wear Green But Don't Mention a Specific Nationality Day

July 4 -- Independence, Dependence or Codependence Day

September -- People Who Like to Work or Just Hang Out Day

October 12 -- Celebrate With a Knowing Smile All the Europeans Who Claim
to Have Discovered an Already Occupied Continent Day

November -- Turkey Day -- but we're discussing whether to rename it
Turkey or Soy Protein Meat Substitute Day

SAD BUT CLOSE TO TRUE

A friend sent along a cartoon that showed three students waiting glumly outside the principal's office. They began to share with each other why they were in trouble. The first student: "I said the 'S' word." The second: "I said the 'F' word." The third: "I said 'Christmas.'"

ACTIVIST FEDERAL JUDGE DIMINISHES PARENTAL RIGHTS

A federal judge, in a blow to both parental rights and Judeo-Christian standards, gave a California student the right to sue her school district for revealing her sexual orientation to her own parents. The student was disciplined by the school for inappropriate displays of affection with her “girlfriend” on school grounds, and the school simply informed her parents of the disciplinary action.

This is, of course, on its face a ludicrous decision. The girl obviously made no effort to conceal her sexual orientation from an entire student body, yet now has the approval of an activist judge to punish those who would provide that same information to her own parents. What’s worse, with the help of the ACLU, she is suing on grounds that the school infringed on her right to privacy! This judge in essence ruled that parents have no right to know what everyone else knows about the public sexual behavior of their own children.

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038816.cfm

BUT MR. JEFFERSON: WHAT ABOUT YOUR WALL?

Here is another historical tidbit from William Federer about a little known legislative initiative of Thomas Jefferson, the icon of the left. It quotes from a treaty which provided that the federal government would fund the work of Roman Catholic priests among an Indian tribe, and provide additional funds for them to build a church building.

“President Thomas Jefferson, author of the phrase "Separation of church and state," asked Congress to ratify a treaty with the Kaskaskia Indians, which they did (on)…December 3, 1803.

The Treaty, negotiated shortly after the Louisiana Purchase by future President William Henry Harrison, stated: "And whereas the greater part of the said tribe have been baptized and received into the Catholic Church, to which they are much attached, the United States will give annually, for seven years, one hundred dollars toward the support of a priest of that religion, who will engage to perform for said tribe the duties of his office, and also to instruct as many of their children as possible, in the rudiments of literature."

The treaty concluded: "The United States will further give the sum of three hundred dollars to assist the said tribe in the erection of a church."

Funding the Idaho Values Alliance

2005-12-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

THE IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

Tuesday, December 6, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/ (Note: new Blog address)

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

Note: Due to a technical glitch, I was unable to send or receive email on either Sunday or Monday. If you got a bounce back on an email you tried to send to me, please resend it. My apologies for the inconvenience.

FUNDING THE IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE: BUYING TIME

Please consider making an ongoing, consistent contribution to the work of the Idaho Values Alliance. Your support will make it possible for us to promote and defend religious liberty, the sanctity of the family, the sanctity of life, and to restrain judicial activism.

You might think of your donation as a purchase of time and energy. We are all busy holding down jobs, nurturing our marriages and our families, cultivating our spiritual lives through church activities, and coaching Little League and soccer. We simply don’t have a lot of time or energy left over to engage in the cultural battle for values.

But by buying a slice of someone else’s time, you can know that you have someone who is devoting the time it takes to keep you informed and to represent your voice in the public arena.

If everyone who is currently receiving these updates and believes in our mission is willing to make a modest but monthly contribution to the IVA, our work can proceed without restriction. Every donation buys another slice of the time that is necessary to keep us moving forward together.

Here’s what your purchase of time will buy you.

INFORMATION – These daily updates will continue to be researched, written, and sent to keep you abreast of developments in Idaho and how those developments intersect with cultural trends around the country.

REPRESENTATION – We’ll have the time available to represent our common values and convictions in the media (as we did last week for a news story on Christmas and political correctness), in print (as we did in November with a guest editorial exposing the radical agenda of the ACLU), and in the legislature, which begins in January. With a marriage amendment to the state constitution on the docket, it will be important for us to have a presence at the state capitol this year.

MOBILIZATION – We’ll be able to give you timely alerts so you’ll know when to contact decision makers and legislators. In the last two weeks, we were able to mobilize you to contact the CEO of Target on Target’s ban of Christmas, and to contact Governor Kempthorne’s office to thank him for calling the state tree a Christmas tree. His office reported receiving a “ton of calls” in support.

VOTERS’ GUIDES – We want to produce these for the primary election in May as well as for the general election in November. Because Idaho is such a Republican-leaning state, the primary elections are often more important than the general if we want to see legislators in office who represent our values. Producing accurate and complete voters’ guides is a time-intensive process.

STATEWIDE NETWORK – Your donations make the communication and travel possible which are necessary to build a truly statewide network for the promotion and defense of the values we share.

You may send donations to:

The Idaho Values Alliance
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

TEN COMMANDMENTS CASE BEFORE IDAHO SUPREME COURT THIS FRIDAY

Don’t forget that oral arguments will be heard by the Idaho State Supreme Court this Friday, December 9, at 10:00 AM on our Ten Commandments initiative. The city has used legal technicalities to deprive Boiseans of their right to vote on this issue, and we are optimistic that the Court will order the city to hold an election on the initiative.

Make plans to attend if you can. The state Supreme Court meets in the building just east of the old Ada County Courthouse (not the new one!) , which itself is the building just east of the state capitol. The entrance to the Supreme Court building is on State Street.

“MERRY CHRISTMAS” AND THE SALVATION ARMY

Here’s an anecdote from a member of our network:

“A week ago I went into Albertsons and there was your typical Salvation Army person ringing the bell. As I put something in the kitty, she said to me, “Happy Holidays.” I immediately responded by saying, “Merry Christmas.” She pondered for a few seconds and responded with a big ‘Merry Christmas’ to me too.”

Here’s another:

“I was at Fred Myers in Nampa on Wednesday when a Salvation Army bell ringer wished me and my son a “Happy Holidays.” He looked really startled when I said, “Actually, Merry Christmas and God bless you,” but he then smiled and said “Thank you, you too.”

“I found it ironic that the Salvation Army, which is a recognized church, would have its bell ringers say “Happy Holidays” instead of Merry Christmas. I for one will say Merry Christmas whenever I can and to share the real reason of the season – Jesus.”

“MERRY CHRISTMAS” IS INCLUSIVE

The standard defense of “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is something along the lines, “We just want to include everybody.” Here’s the response I’d suggest we make: “Ninety-sex percent of Americans celebrate Christmas. I’d say 96% is just about as inclusive as you can get.”

JEWISH RABBI DEFENDS CHRISTMAS!

Rabbi Daniel Lapin, an occasional guest on Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family radio broadcast, heads the national organization “Toward Tradition.” Our good friend Allen Gorin is the head of the Idaho chapter of this group, which exists to build bridges between Christians and Jews.

In an appearance before the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. last week, Rabbi Lapin said that he thinks “Christians should celebrate Christmas publicly.”

His first reason has to do with shared values. “My choice is between living among people practicing aggressive secularism or living among benign and Bible-believing Christians… How could I possibly ally myself with those who would make God’s commandments irrelevant to society?”

Secondly, he urges Jews to stand with Christians against anti-Christian bias just as Jews want Christians to stand with them against anti-Semitism. “In order to retain both intellectual and moral integrity, Jewish values require Jews to protest anti-Christianism just as we have so often entreated American Christians to protest anti-Semitism.”

His third reason is gratitude to Christian America for the sanctuary it has offered the Jewish people and the Jewish religion. “We Jews owe gratitude to America, and particularly to those Americans who venerate Christian values. We Jews have long enjoyed tranquility and prosperity in America of a kind that we have never been offered by any other society in the past two thousand years.”

ON THE OTHER HAND, JEWISH GROUPS PLOT CHALLENGE TO PRO-FAMILY GROUPS

A private meeting of liberal Jewish leaders took place yesterday to develop a response to the religious right. Their particular targets: Focus on the Family, The Alliance Defense Fund, the American Family Association, and the Family Research Council. They accuse these groups of eroding civil liberties and planning to “christianize America.”

Jewish columnist Don Feder is not impressed. He said, “Is wanting to keep God in the Pledge of Allegiance Christianizing America? Is opposition to gay marriage Christianizing America? (Are) efforts to keep public displays of the Ten Commandments Christianizing America? If so, Moses was a Christianizer.”

This effort also ignores the fact that the evangelical church in America is the best friend that Israel has. A 2002 poll found that “conservative church-going Christians” had the highest rates of support for Israel (62 percent) among non-Jewish religious groups.

This actually should be a heartening sign for us in the pro-family movement. The fact that these groups would plot high-level strategy to oppose us is the surest indication that the left is developing a desperate awareness that its stranglehold on the courts and the media and public opinion is weakening by the day.

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051205-121548-6982r.htm

AMERICAN ATHEISTS SUE TO REMOVE CROSSES IN HONOR OF FALLEN UTAH PATROL OFFICERS

The Utah Highway Patrol for years has erected roadside crosses in honor of fallen UHP troopers. Last Thursday, the American Atheists Inc. filed a lawsuit against the UHP, claiming that the crosses violate the Constitution because they represent “government endorsement of religion.”

Once again note the verbal sleight of hand by the left. The Constitution does not forbid government “endorsement” of religion. Rather, it forbids the “establishment” of religion by Congress and Congress alone (“Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion”).

First of all, then, the Utah Highway Patrol cannot violate the First Amendment for the simple reason that the Utah Highway Patrol is not Congress.

Secondly, “establishment” had a clearly recognized meaning at the time of our founding. It meant to grant one Christian denomination preferred status in law, and mandate that it be supported by the taxpayers, as was true of the Anglican Church in England.

The only way Congress can violate the First Amendment is by passing a law establishing one particular Christian denomination as the national church. Since the cross is a symbol shared by every branch of the Christian faith, the presence of a cross – on Table Rock in Boise or on a roadside in Utah - grants no preference in law to one denomination over another. Crosses on public land are perfectly constitutional and permissible.

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3271385

DEMOCRAT LEGISLATORS IN ALABAMA PROPOSE BIBLE CURRICULUM FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Proving that cultural literacy and freedom of academic inquiry are not partisan issues, two Democratic leaders of Alabama's House of Representatives introduced legislation that would authorize local boards of education to offer a course in Bible literacy as an elective in grades 10-12. The bill is expected to pass without opposition, and would make Alabama the first state to offer a Bible curriculum in a public education setting.

The proposed text approaches the Bible academically rather than devotionally, and examines its influence on Western civilization, including its indelible imprint on literature, art, history, and public policy.

It is impossible to be an educated American without a working knowledge of the stories and themes of the Bible. One of the legislators pointed out that 98 percent of high school English teachers believe Bible literacy gives students a distinct educational advantage. More than 60 percent of the allusions on the Advanced Placement English Literature exam have a biblical basis, but only 8 percent of American students in public schools report that their school offered an elective course on the Bible.

Both arguments are contradicted by the latest data from the Netherlands, the world's first country to legalize same-sex civil "marriage." The new statistics show that only 12% of the homosexual couples in the Netherlands have even bothered to marry, while another 10% remain in "registered partnerships."

In a related note, it was announced yesterday that Elton John will “marry” his gay partner on Dec. 21 at the same venue used by Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, with the same officials presiding. Civil partnerships become legal in Britain on that day.

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=CU05L01&f=CU05L03&amp;amp;amp;amp;t=e

COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF CONSCIENCE

A United States appeal court has backed two fertility doctors who refused to treat a lesbian patient because it would have violated their religious beliefs.

A fertility clinic declined to perform artificial insemination for this woman in 1999. She filed a discrimination suit against the clinic, but the appeal court ruling allows the doctors to use religious liberty as a defense in a lawsuit of this nature. The woman found another clinic which did perform the procedure, and she how has a three-year old boy.

Notice what this reveals about the agenda of the left. The left, which claims to be all about tolerance, is willing to use the power of the state to punish those who convictions do not support the radical homosexual agenda, and even compel them to violate their own consciences and sincerely held religious beliefs.

In a related story, Walgreens has suspended without pay four pharmacists in Illinois who refuse to prescribe the morning-after pill because the pill can and does cause abortions. (The pill can prevent fertilization, but also prevents implantation of a fertilized egg.) The governor, who issued the order requiring pharmacies to dispense this pill, is standing squarely behind Walgreens.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1657878,00.html

EARLY EXIT STRATEGY AT HOME

While foreign policy is not part of the charter of the Idaho Values Alliance, the following piece of information, sent to me by a friend, is too good to pass up.

“If you consider that there have been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theater of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000.

“The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000. That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in our nation's capitol, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq.

“Conclusion: We should immediately pull out of Washington D.C.”

To further illustrate the point, recently released crime statistics show the homicide rate in California is 265 percent higher than the death rate suffered by U.S. and British military personnel in Iraq.

According to the report "Crime in California 2004," compiled by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, there were 2,394 reported homicides in the Golden State last year. That compares with 905 deaths of coalition forces in Iraq, chiefly Americans and Brits, during the same time period.

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47680

Funding the Idaho Values Alliance

2005-12-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

THE IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

Monday, December 5, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/ (Note: new Blog address)

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

FUNDING THE IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE: BUYING TIME

Please consider making an ongoing, consistent contribution to the work of the Idaho Values Alliance. Your support will make it possible for us to promote and defend religious liberty, the sanctity of the family, the sanctity of life, and to restrain judicial activism.

You might think of your donation as a purchase of time and energy. We are all busy holding down jobs, nurturing our marriages and our families, cultivating our spiritual lives through church activities, and coaching Little League and soccer. We simply don’t have a lot of time or energy left over to engage in the cultural battle for values. But by buying a slice of someone else’s time, you can know that you have someone who is devoting the time it takes to keep you informed and to represent your voice in the public arena.

If everyone who is currently receiving these updates and believes in our mission is willing to make a modest but monthly contribution to the IVA, our work can proceed without restriction. Every donation buys another slice of the time that is necessary to keep us moving forward together.

Here’s what your purchase of time will buy you.

INFORMATION – These daily updates will continue to be researched, written, and sent to keep you abreast of developments in Idaho and how those developments intersect with cultural trends around the country.

REPRESENTATION – We’ll have the time available to represent our common values and convictions in the media (as we did last week for a news story on Christmas and political correctness), in print (as we did in November with a guest editorial exposing the radical agenda of the ACLU), and in the legislature, which begins in January. With a marriage amendment to the state constitution on the docket, it will be important for us to have a presence at the state capitol this year.

MOBILIZATION – We’ll be able to give you timely alerts so you’ll know when to contact decision makers and legislators. In the last two weeks, we were able to mobilize you to contact the CEO of Target on Target’s ban of Christmas, and to contact Governor Kempthorne’s office to thank him for calling the state tree a Christmas tree. His office reported receiving a “ton of calls” in support.

VOTERS’ GUIDES – We want to produce these for the primary election in May as well as for the general election in November. Because Idaho is such a Republican-leaning state, the primary elections are often more important than the general if we want to see legislators in office who represent our values. Producing accurate and complete voters’ guides is a time-intensive process.

STATEWIDE NETWORK – Your donations make the communication and travel possible which are necessary to build a truly statewide network for the promotion and defense of the values we share.

You may send donations to:

The Idaho Values Alliance
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

TEN COMMANDMENTS CASE BEFORE IDAHO SUPREME COURT THIS FRIDAY

Don’t forget that oral arguments will be heard by the Idaho State Supreme Court this Friday, December 9, at 10:00 AM on our Ten Commandments initiative. The city has used legal technicalities to deprive Boiseans of their right to vote on this issue, and we are optimistic that the Court will order the city to hold an election on the initiative.

Make plans to attend if you can. The state Supreme Court meets in the building just east of the Ada County Courthouse, which itself is the building just east of the state capitol. The entrance to the Supreme Court building is on State Street.

“MERRY CHRISTMAS” AND THE SALVATION ARMY

Here’s an anecdote from a member of our network:

“A week ago I went into Albertsons and there was your typical Salvation Army person ringing the bell. As I put something in the kitty, she said to me, “Happy Holidays.” I immediately responded by saying, “Merry Christmas.” She pondered for a few seconds and responded with a big ‘Merry Christmas’ to me too.”

Here’s another:

“I was at Fred Myers in Nampa on Wednesday when a Salvation Army bell ringer wished me and my son a “Happy Holidays.” He looked really startled when I said, “Actually, Merry Christmas and God bless you,” but he then smiled and said 'Thank you, you too.'

“I found it ironic that the Salvation Army, which is a recognized church, would have its bell ringers say “Happy Holidays” instead of Merry Christmas. I for one will say Merry Christmas whenever I can and to share the real reason of the season – Jesus.”

“MERRY CHRISTMAS” IS INCLUSIVE

The standard defense of “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is something along the lines, “We just want to include everybody.” Here’s the response I’d suggest we make: “Ninety-sex percent of Americans celebrate Christmas. I’d say 96% is just about as inclusive as you can get.”

JEWISH RABBI DEFENDS CHRISTMAS!

Rabbi Daniel Lapin, an occasional guest on Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family radio broadcast, heads the national organization “Toward Tradition.” Our good friend Allen Gorin is the head of the Idaho chapter of this group, which exists to build bridges between Christians and Jews.

In an appearance before the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. last week, Rabbi Lapin said that he thinks “Christians should celebrate Christmas publicly.”

His first reason has to do with shared values. “My choice is between living among people practicing aggressive secularism or living among benign and Bible-believing Christians… How could I possibly ally myself with those who would make God’s commandments irrelevant to society?”

Secondly, he urges Jews to stand with Christians against anti-Christian bias just as Jews want Christians to stand with them against anti-Semitism. “In order to retain both intellectual and moral integrity, Jewish values require Jews to protest anti-Christianism just as we have so often entreated American Christians to protest anti-Semitism.”

His third reason is gratitude to Christian America for the sanctuary it has offered the Jewish people and the Jewish religion. “We Jews owe gratitude to America, and particularly to those Americans who venerate Christian values. We Jews have long enjoyed tranquility and prosperity in America of a kind that we have never been offered by any other society in the past two thousand years.”

ON THE OTHER HAND, JEWISH GROUPS PLOT CHALLENGE TO PRO-FAMILY GROUPS

A private meeting of liberal Jewish leaders is scheduled for today to develop a response to the religious right. Their particular targets: Focus on the Family, The Alliance Defense Fund, the American Family Association, and the Family Research Council. They accuse these groups of eroding civil liberties and planning to “christianize America.”

Jewish columnist Don Feder is not impressed. He said, “Is wanting to keep God in the Pledge of Allegiance Christianizing America? Is opposition to gay marriage Christianizing America? (Are) efforts to keep public displays of the Ten Commandments Christianizing America? If so, Moses was a Christianizer.”

This effort also ignores the fact that the evangelical church in America is the best friend that Israel has. A 2002 poll found that “conservative church-going Christians” had the highest rates of support for Israel (62 percent) among non-Jewish religious groups.

This actually should be a heartening sign for us in the pro-family movement. The fact that these groups would plot high-level strategy to oppose us is the surest indication that the left is developing a desperate awareness that its stranglehold on the courts and the media and public opinion is weakening by the day.

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051205-121548-6982r.htm

AMERICAN ATHEISTS SUE TO REMOVE CROSSES IN HONOR OF FALLEN UTAH PATROL OFFICERS

The Utah Highway Patrol for years has erected roadside crosses in honor of fallen UHP troopers. Last Thursday, the American Atheists Inc. filed a lawsuit against the UHP, claiming that the crosses violate the Constitution because they represent “government endorsement of religion.”

Once again note the verbal sleight of hand by the left. The Constitution does not forbid government “endorsement” of religion. Rather, it forbids the “establishment” of religion by Congress and Congress alone (“Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion...”).

First of all, then, the Utah Highway Patrol cannot violate the First Amendment for the simple reason that the Utah Highway Patrol is not Congress.

Secondly, “establishment” had a clearly recognized meaning at the time of our founding. It meant to grant one Christian denomination preferred status in law, and mandate that it be supported by the taxpayers, as was true of the Anglican Church in England.

The only way Congress can violate the First Amendment is by passing a law establishing one particular Christian denomination as the national church. Since the cross is a symbol shared by every branch of the Christian faith, the presence of a cross – on Table Rock in Boise or on a roadside in Utah - grants no preference in law to one denomination over another. Crosses on public land are perfectly constitutional and permissible.

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3271385

DEMOCRAT LEGISLATORS IN ALABAMA PROPOSE BIBLE CURRICULUM FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Proving that cultural literacy and freedom of academic inquiry is not a partisan issue, two Democratic leaders of Alabama's House of Representatives introduced legislation that would authorize local boards of education to offer a course in Bible literacy as an elective in grades 10-12. The bill is expected to pass without opposition, and would make Alabama the first state to offer a Bible curriculum in a public education setting.

The textbook is called “The Bible and Its Influence,” and published by the Bible Literacy Project.

On a local note, our good friend Chuck Selden, who is the head of the organization “Our Godly American Heritage,” will present a proposal to the Boise School District board on January 9, 2006 to add the study of the Bible to the local public school curriculum. Chuck and his volunteers plan to turn in a petition that night with more than 1000 signatures supporting his request.

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47715

NEW HAMPSHIRE LEGISLATORS: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE “NOT A CIVIL RIGHT”

A commission authorized by the New Hampshire legislature spent 16 months studying the issue of same-sex marriage, and conclude that it is not in fact a civil right.

Glen Lavy of the Alliance Defense Fund said the commission got it right. "By focusing on the long-standing legal aspects of marriage, rather than the divisive political aspects of marriage, the commission's report reaffirmed that the real reason for marriage is for the protection of children."

The commission stated that marriage “across…all societies and history has been defined as the union of a man and a woman…marriage models both natural human sexuality and reproduction that commits to the health, safety, and welfare of both the individual and the community.”

This report reminds us of the three simplest reasons to oppose gay marriage:

1. The Judeo-Christian tradition: Western civilization has been built on the transcendent moral code preserved for us in the teaching of the Bible. At the core of this moral code is the principle that marriage is the union of man and a woman. In fact, every major religion in the world opposes the normalization of homosexual sex. To accept gay “marriage” is to overthrow the wisdom and experience of the centuries and the lessons of history itself.

2. Sex: Gay sex is fundamentally unnatural, unhealthy and medically risky, as it puts parts of the body to sexual use that were never intended for that purpose.

3. Children: One of the fundamental purposes of marriage is to provide a legal and societally endorsed relationship in which children may be conceived (impossible in homosexual relationships) and raised by both a mother and a father (one of which is missing in every homosexual union).

To its further credit, the commission debunked the notion that there is a parallel between race and sexual orientation. Race is immutable and innate, while sexual orientation is neither. The existence of thousands of ex-gays proves that sexual orientation is not fixed and unchangeable.

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47718

ONLY 12% OF DUTCH HOMOSEXUALS “MARRY”

Pro-homosexual activists often argue that homosexual couples desperately need the legal and financial protections that accompany marriage. They also argue that legalization of same-sex "marriage" would actually strengthen the institution of marriage by encouraging more people to participate in it. Both arguments are contradicted by the latest data from the Netherlands, the world's first country to legalize same-sex civil "marriage." The new statistics show that only 12% of the homosexual couples in the Netherlands have even bothered to marry, while another 10% remain in "registered partnerships."

In a related note, watch for a possible brewing storm over Elton John’s “wedding” plans. There is some reason to believe that he is planning his ceremony to take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, which is arousing the opposition of some Russian lawmakers. Civil unions will receive legal recognition in England beginning on Dec. 21.

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=CU05L01&f=CU05L03&amp;amp;amp;amp;t=e

COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF CONSCIENCE

A United States appeal court has backed two fertility doctors who refused to treat a lesbian patient because it would have violated their religious beliefs.

A fertility clinic declined to perform artificial insemination for this woman in 1999. She filed a discrimination suit against the clinic, but the appeal court ruling allows the doctors to use religious liberty as a defense in a lawsuit of this nature. The woman found another clinic which did perform the procedure, and she how has a three-year old boy.

Notice what this reveals about the agenda of the left. The left, which claims to be all about tolerance, is willing to use the power of the state to punish those who convictions do not support the radical homosexual agenda, and even compel them to violate their own consciences and sincerely held religious beliefs.

In a related story, Walgreens has suspended without pay four pharmacists in Illinois who refuse to prescribe the morning-after pill because the pill can and does cause abortions. (The pill can prevent fertilization, but also prevents implantation of a fertilized egg.) The governor, who issued the order requiring pharmacies to dispense this pill, is standing squarely behind Walgreens.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1657878,00.html

EARLY EXIT STRATEGY AT HOME

While foreign policy is not part of the charter of the Idaho Values Alliance, the following piece of information, sent to me by a friend, is too good to pass up.

“If you consider that there have been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theater of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000.

“The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000. That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in our nation's capitol, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq.

“Conclusion: We should immediately pull out of Washington D.C.”

To further illustrate the point, recently released crime statistics show the homicide rate in California is 265 percent higher than the death rate suffered by U.S. and British military personnel in Iraq.

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47680

Walgreen's Changes Tune on Christmas

2005-12-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

THE IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

Friday, December 2, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/ (Note: new Blog address)

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

(Note: you may receive two versions of today’s update as we experiment with a slightly different email format.)

TEN COMMANDMENTS CASE A WEEK FROM TODAY

Mark your calendars and plan to attend next week’s oral arguments on our Ten Commandments case before the Idaho State Supreme Court. The hearing will take place next Friday, December 9, at 10:00 AM in the morning. There are plenty of seats for guests, as this is the true “People’s Court.”

The Supreme Court building is the first building east of the Ada County Courthouse, which is the first building east of the state capitol. The main entrance is on State Street.

WALGREENS WILL GET CHRISTMASY NEXT YEAR

Walgreen’s has joined the ranks of the recently reconverted by announcing that next year they will forthrightly use “Christmas” in advertising and in-store displays. It’s too late for this year, since print ads have already been produced, but the company released this statement:

"Next year, you can be assured our advertising will better incorporate 'Christmas,' and our holiday trees will be called Christmas trees.”

(Source: American Family Association)

Don’t forget to share your politically correct Christmas season experiences with me if you’re inclined. I’d be especially curious to hear anything about your interaction with staff and managers at places like Target, Costco, and Wal-Mart. Be sure to be kind and courteous in every interaction.

Even though Target seems to trying to finesse the issue, a woman on a nationally syndicated talk radio program said yesterday that she had talked directly with a Target store manager, a Christian man, who assured her that the ban on Christmas greetings and advertising had come straight from the top.

ACTIVIST JUDGE FORBIDS PRAYERS THAT MENTION YOU KNOW WHO

A federal judge ruled this week that the Indiana House is prohibited from opening its sessions with Christian prayers, claiming that such prayers amount to “an official endorsement of the Christian religion.”

He said not a word about the clause in the First Amendment that forbids federal interference with “the free exercise” of religion. What “free exercise” can Christian pastors enjoy, when a judge has intruded into their practice of religion by forbidding them to pray as their rabbi taught them to pray? No such restriction was imposed by this judge on any other faith tradition.

Other faith traditions are already represented in the Indiana House. Last year, of the 53 opening prayers offered, 12 were offered by clergy identified with some tradition other than Christianity. Of the 41 prayers offered by Christian clergy, only 29 specifically mentioned the name of Christ.

Don’t forget that if we understand the First Amendment in its historical context, only Congress is restrained by the First Amendment. It applies specifically to “Congress,” and therefore contains no restraint on what the Indiana House of Representatives may do or not do. The Founders deliberately chose to leave religious issues in the hands of the individual states and forbade any federal interference in these matters.

Activist judges have completely trashed this Jeffersonian “wall of separation between church and state,” and have inserted themselves willy-nilly into issues they have no constitutional authority even to consider.

The House Speaker has called this judge’s ruling an “intolerable decision” which threatens free speech, and has directed his legal staff to study ways to overturn the decision.

(Source: The Pastor’s Weekly Briefing, Focus on the Family)

BAN ON DORM BIBLE STUDIES LIFTED AT UNIVERSITY WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE

I wrote you earlier that the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire had banned resident assistants from leading Bible studies in their own dorm rooms on their own time. This was because, according to an administrator, some students might feel “judged.” (There apparently was no concern that Christian RAs and students might feel “judged” themselves by such a biased policy.)

At any rate, in some good news for freedom of speech, religion, and academic freedom, the university yesterday suspended its policy, although it took a Christian RA filing a lawsuit to get its attention.

KANSAS CANCELS COURSE WHICH CALLED INTELLIGENT DESIGN “MYTHOLOGY”

I’ve written you twice about a course the University of Kansas had scheduled for the spring semester which called intelligent design and creationism “mythologies.” The professor, in what has become typical of the condescending and arrogant attitude of academic elites toward people of faith, said the course would be a “nice slap in their big fat face,” referring to conservative Christians, whom he called “fundies,” short for “fundamentalists.”

First, national outrage prompted the professor to pull “mythology” out of the course title, and then to apologize for his comments, which the chancellor of the university said were “repugnant and vile.” Yesterday, the university announced that the class has been canceled altogether.

A state senator said the university did the right thing. "I'm glad they decided to listen to the public. The public response was so negative because of what seemed to be so hateful coming from the KU professor. I am critical of his hatefulness toward Christians."

The last two stories may be a harbinger of good things to come, and perhaps the first sign of spring to follow the long winter of tyrannical liberal control of our institutions of higher learning. May it be so.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/12/01/D8E7ME401.html

CHURCHES GET HIGHEST MARKS IN KATRINA RELIEF

In general, we believe that it would be better for government to reduce its social spending, give the money it spends on welfare programs back to the citizens who earned it, and trust them to give that money to the charities they trust to get help to people who need it.

A survey done by Louisiana State University confirms this. The survey revealed that Louisiana residents gave churches higher marks by far than government agencies in responding to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Residents gave churches a mark of 8.1 (out of 10), while New Orleans city agencies and state agencies received the lowest rating of 4.6.

The study said, “Louisiana residents were not particularly charitable when it came to evaluating government response ... but were considerably more favorable of the efforts of faith-based organizations and nonprofits, including local community foundations and the Red Cross.”

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051201-114736-6989r.htm

NEWS FLASH: MEN AND WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT

The Judeo-Christian teaches that God created man as “male and female” (Genesis 1), implying that the sexes are fundamentally different and complementary and not simply interchangeable clones of each other. It’s one of the reasons why children need both a mother and a father, and not two of one or the other.

Recent research indicates that the differences between the sexes are hard-wired into our brains. After analyzing magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) of 23 men and 10 women, researchers at the University of Alberta in Canada found that the sexes use different areas of the brain even when working on exactly the same task.

The patterns revealed that men and women clearly met language and spatial challenges differently. “The results jumped out at us,” said Emily Bell, one of the researchers. “Sometimes males and females would perform the same tasks and show different brain activation. And sometimes they would perform different tasks and show the same brain activation.”

A researcher at the University of California at Irvine concluded, based on MRI studies of female and male brain activity, that men have more than six times the amount of gray matter – which controls information processing – in their brains as women do. But women have 10 times the amount of white matter, which controls networking abilities.

He said that findings “may help explain why men excel in tasks requiring more local processing (like mathematics) while women tend to excel at integrating and assimilating information ... such as required for language.”

Other studies have indicated that there is even a fundamental difference between a male sense of humor and a female sense of humor. (A friend told me one time that the main difference between men and women is that men think the Three Stooges are funny.)

The Judeo-Christian tradition also teaches us that “it is not good for the man to be alone (Genesis 2:18).” Marriage has been designed by God to be a relationship of companionship as well as sexual intimacy. Again, the best of science confirms what the Bible teaches on its very first pages. Researchers at Cornell University released a study yesterday which found that being married is associated with higher self-esteem, greater life satisfaction, greater happiness, and less distress.

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051201-114744-9984r.html

ABORTION LEADS TO HEIGHTENED RISK OF SUICIDE

When a woman walks into an abortion clinic, the casualty is always the same: one dead, one wounded. We have long been convinced that one of the reasons to oppose abortion is that it harms the women who have them. One of the best things we can do for women in Idaho is support policies that reduce abortions in our state.

A new study in Finland has revealed that the suicide rate among women who had abortions was six times higher than that of women who had given birth in the prior year. The study also revealed that deaths from suicide, accidents and homicide are 248% higher in the year following an abortion compared to women who have not been pregnant in the prior year.

While the risk of death from suicide, accidents, and homicide was highest among women who had abortions within the prior year, the risk of death was lowest among women who gave birth within the prior year.

Previous studies have also linked abortion to higher rates of substance abuse, anxiety, sleep disorders, suicidal thoughts, psychiatric illness, relationship problems, and risk-taking behavior, any of which may increase a women's risk of death by suicide or accident.

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/dec/05120107.html

SOUTH AFRICAN COURT MANDATES GAY MARRIAGE

In another arrogant display of judicial activism, South Africa’s highest court ordered the country’s legislature to legalize gay marriage within a year, or it will do it for them. The court ruled that it is unconstitutional to prohibit gays from marrying.

This further illustrates the need we have here in Idaho to elevate protection of marriage to constitutional status. It is protected in state law right now, but not in the state constitution, which leaves marriage vulnerable to the actions of an activist judge. Likewise, marriage is protected in federal law right now but not in the federal constitution. We must have a similar amendment at the federal level as well.

If our state constitution is amended to prohibit gay marriage and other marriage counterfeits, the hands of even activist judges can be tied. It can’t be unconstitutional to prohibit gay marriage if the prohibition is in the constitution. The prohibition, by definition, becomes constitutional at the point it is ratified.

GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER’S NEW CHIEF OF STAFF “MARRIED” TO GAY PARTNER

In what represents perhaps a final, unbridgeable breach between California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the conservative base of the Republican party, he this week appointed a pro-abortion Democrat, Susan Kennedy, to be his chief of staff. She first came to public attention as the head of the California branch of the National Abortion Rights Action League, is a longtime homosexual activist, and in 1999 “married” a gay partner in Hawaii.

http://washingtontimes.com/national/inpolitics.htm

NOTE ON CHANNEL 2 NEWS STORIES

Those of you who tuned into Channel 2 in Boise last night to watch their story on how political correctness has taken over Christmas most likely found the 5:30 PM story more satisfying than the 10:00 PM version. The story was re-edited for the later broadcast, and lost some of its focus and clarity.

However, you probably also got to see an adjacent story in which Barbara Gough, a Boise mother of four and one of our key volunteers in the Keep the Commandments Coalition, exposed the pro-feminist agenda of the American Girl doll making company.

Media Advisory - IVA Interviewed for Channel 2 Story

2005-12-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

Thursday, December 01, 2005

MEDIA ADVISORY

IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE IN THE NEWS – INTERVIEW WITH CHANNEL 2 FOR LOCAL NEWS BROADCAST TONIGHT AT 5:30 PM AND 10:00 PM

The CBS affiliate in Boise, KBCI Channel 2, interviewed me, as the director of the Idaho Values Alliance, this morning about the rampant political correctness that has overtaken the Christmas season. Our interview, which was conducted in front of the state Christmas tree on the capitol steps, will air tonight on Channel 2’s local newscasts at both 5:30 PM and again at 10:00 PM.

I made the point that the history, values, and traditions of this nation are rooted in Christianity, and that it is perfectly appropriate that we acknowledge that at this time of year. It’s good, I said, that the governor has called it a Christmas tree, because that’s what it is.

I said it would be kind of silly for us to pressure the Jewish community into calling a menorah a “Holiday Candlestick” out of a desire not to offend. It’s just as silly for us to call a “Christmas tree” by some other name.

Ninety-six percent of American’s celebrate Christmas, and 87% of Americans believe that nativity scenes should be allowed on public property. When, I said, do we start worrying about offending them, the great majority of the American people, instead of taking such pains to avoid offending a tiny minority?

I pointed out the inconsistency of retailers, who forbid cashiers to say “Merry Christmas” and yet make 20-30% of their annual revenue because we celebrate the birth of Christ every year. I mentioned that we have asked you, when you shop at Costco, or Wal-Mart, or Target, to say a cheery “Merry Christmas” to cashiers, no matter what expression they use with us.

The last thing I said was, “When I was a kid, we were concerned about keeping Christ in Christmas. Now we have to worry about keeping Christmas in Christmas.”

One of the five strategies of the IVA is to provide supporters of the IVA with representation in the media, as well as in print, and in the legislature. Your faithful support will make it possible for our values to be represented when issues we care about, such as religious liberty, become part of the public dialogue.

GOVERNOR’S OFFICE ACKNOWLEDGES, APPRECIATES PHONE CALLS

I checked with members of the governor’s staff this morning, and was informed that they have received “tons of calls” in support of the governor’s decision to call it a “Christmas Tree” instead of a “Holiday Tree.” A big thank you to those of you who called – our efforts are making a difference!

Idaho Statesman: Double Standard on Health

2005-12-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

Thursday, December 1, 2005

From Bryan Fischer, Co-director

For Blog: http://www.idahovaluesalliance.blogspot.com/

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

SUPREME COURT HEARS ABORTION CASE

In John Roberts’ first abortion case, the Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday about a New Hampshire law that requires parents of a teenage girl to be notified before an abortion is performed on their daughter. Planned Parenthood challenged this law on the grounds that it does not contain a “health” exception for the pregnant girl.

The problem with “health” exceptions is that activist judges have interpreted them so broadly that anything and everything, including a girl’s fear of her parents’ reaction to her pregnancy, qualifies. A “health” exception virtually guts a pro-life bill.

Of course, Planned Parenthood appears to have no concern for the “health” of the unborn baby whose life is destroyed. And should not parents especially be notified if there is some health issue their dependent daughter is facing? After all, she cannot get so much as an aspirin at school without not just parental notification but parental consent.

Well, New Hampshire lawmakers think parents should be involved in such decisions. Only an out-of-control judiciary acting as a superlegislature could even allow a case like this into the judicial system. It is properly the responsibility of legislators, not judges, to set policies that have to do with parental authority and parental counsel.

LifeNews: Court Focuses on Health Exception in Abortion Notification Case

LifeNews: Supreme Court Justices Reveal Clear Abortion Views in Notification Case

MANIC BLEATING FROM THE LEFT: ALITO IS PRO-LIFE!

Expect to see a firestorm erupt from the left over another Reagan-era Sam Alito memo that outlines his reservations about Roe v. Wade, coupled with a strategy to “mitigate” its effects by chipping away at abortion protections. The left immediately resumed screeching about his inability to respect the right of women to choose, his “stunning” and “extreme” views, and called his memo not a “smoking gun” but “a smoking cannon.”

Yet the left never talks about the radical “ideology” of its own nominees, and Republicans for too long meekly approved any judge the Democrats brought forward. Ruth Bader-Ginsburg believes that the age of sexual consent should be lowered to 12, but you heard nary a peep from the left (or from the right, for that matter) about how radical that view is, or how difficult it would make it for her to respect the right of parents to direct the maturation process of their children.

Alito’s judicial philosophy on Roe v. Wade has been clearly stated in these 1980’s memos, and his philosophy represents exactly what we have been yearning for on the Supreme Court. Fighting for his nomination will be worth every ounce of expended energy.

Samuel Alito Urged Reagan Admin. to Oppose Abortion, New Docs Show

HOMOSEXUALITY AND HEALTH: STATESMAN SHOWS DOUBLE STANDARD

The Idaho Statesman editorialized yesterday that the Idaho legislature should add bowling alleys to the list of establishments where smoking is prohibited. They advocate for this on the grounds of the health risks posed by secondhand smoking.

Second-hand smoke, they say, is “not just an irritant but a health danger.” They add, “Public policy should encourage prevention and wellness…as long as the government is in the business of health care…state government has a direct stake in curbing illness.”

Yet you will find the Statesman curiously silent when it comes to discussing the health risks of homosexual behavior. When the issue of the gay marriage amendment comes before the state legislature next year, expect the Statesman to be offended that anyone would make an issue of the medical consequences of homosexual behavior.

They are positively puritanical and prudish about cigarette smoking, and yet will take umbrage with anyone who thinks that homosexual behavior should be discouraged every bit as much as smoking. Yet the extreme and severe health consequences of this lifestyle can no longer be ignored.

In order to protect the purity of the blood supply, the Red Cross will not accept blood donations from any male who has had sex with another male even a single time since 1977. The Centers for Disease Control allow donated organs to be rejected if the donor has had homosexual sex at any time within the last five years, again because of risks to the recipient.

Despite the fact they comprise only about 2% of the population, 61% of all HIV positive males contracted the virus through gay sex. While smoking costs the average male about 6.6 years of his expected lifespan, active participation in the homosexual lifestyle will cost a man up to twenty years of life.

Health issues alone are reason enough not to grant homosexual behavior the societal endorsement that is implicit in civil unions and the like. Britain will grant recognized status to gay unions beginning Dec. 21, and celebrities such as Elton John and George Michael will have heavily publicized “ceremonies.” Yet the glitz and glitter cannot forever hide the reality that, for many, indulging in gay sex is a death sentence.

"Banning smoking...needed for health"

CHARTER SCHOOLS PRODUCE BETTER RESULTS FOR LESS MONEY

The Idaho Values Alliance will advocate for parental choice in education. We believe that parents love their children more than anyone on the face of the earth, including the best of educators, and know them better than anyone else. And they have a constitutionally recognized right to direct the training and upbringing of their children.

For this reason, we will support policies that increase parental choices in education, such as charter schools and legislation that eases the tax burden on parents who do not use the public school system. We believe that competition will do more to bring about educational reform in the public school system than any other single thing.

Jack Wenders, a professor of economics at the University of Idaho, has shown that the Moscow Charter School has produced better results than the Moscow School District and for considerably less money per pupil.

Moscow Charter School spent about $5100 per student, while the Moscow School District spent over $8500. And yet almost 56% of charter school students met expected yearly growth goals, while only 43% of the school district’s students did.

YOU CAN HAVE A KORAN BUT NOT A BIBLE AT GITMO

Every suspected terrorist being held at Guantanamo Bay has been given a copy of the Koran at taxpayer expense – that’s your money and mine. All this violation of the separation of church and state without so much as a peep from the ACLU.

But now a Pakistani detainee has requested a King James Bible – and been turned down by Gitmo authorities. He is filing suit to get his requested copy of the Bible.

(Source: Tony Perkins, Family Research Council)

FAMILY GETS TO KEEP NATIVITY SCENE IN FRONT YARD

I wrote yesterday ago about a homeowner’s association in suburban Detroit who told a homeowner to take down a nativity scene, even though the family was permitted to leave figures of Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause, Minnie Mouse, and Winnie the Pooh on display.

The association received so many outraged complaints that yesterday they apologized to the family and brought them a “holiday” gift basket. Many of the homes in this subdivision had garish lawn decorations at Halloween with no complaints from the homeowners’ association.

Novi sub backs off, baby Jesus stays put

POMONA COLLEGE CONFUSED ON RULES FOR THE TRANSGENDERED

In a story I am not making up, the Pomona College student senate is facing a dilemma it does not know how to resolve. The issue has to do with the rules of scoring in the intramural sport of inner-tube water polo. Females currently get two points per goal, males one.

One student wanted to know where transgendered students fit into this system. Here is a quote from the notes of the meeting: “DesRochers pointed out that the Senate needs to learn more about transgender issues because they do not have the vocabulary and background to provide the best solutions for these problems.”

There is currently a press right now on the Pomona campus for unisex restrooms, to accommodate transgendered students.

Rules for the transgendered in inner-tube water polo

Swedish Pastor Acquitted in "Hate Speech" Case

2005-11-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

TEN COMMANDMENTS HEARING FRIDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 9

As I have mentioned before, our state supreme court will hear oral arguments on our Ten Commandments initiative on Friday morning, December 9, at 10:00 AM. Please attend if you can. Our state supreme court justices are elected by the people, and they serve at our pleasure. It will help the cause of justice for them to see that this is a matter of concern to many of the citizens who have placed them in office

SWEDISH PASTOR ACQUITTED OF VIOLATING HATE SPEECH LAW

The Swedish Supreme Court – in a unanimous 5-0 decision - has acquitted Pastor Ake Green of charges that he engaged in “hate speech” when he delivered a sermon on homosexual behavior to his small church. This represents a major victory for religious freedom worldwide, as a loss would not only have sent Pastor Green to jail, but also set an international precedent that radical advocates of homosexual behavior would have attempted to use to silence and punish the uncensored preaching of the Gospel around the world.

We have seen our own U.S. Supreme Court increasingly cite international rulings and international law in their own decision-making. An unjust decision in Sweden, sadly enough, would have endangered freedom of religion and speech right here on our own soil.

Alliance Defense Fund Chief Counsel Benjamin Bull, who traveled to Sweden to advise Pastor Green, said: “This is a huge international victory for fundamental human rights, religious freedom, and freedom of speech. Voicing one’s conscience is a fundamental human right. In this contest between religious freedom and the radical homosexual agenda, religious freedom prevailed…We can only hope that will deter other attempts to censor Christian ministers from delivering Bible-based messages against harmful homosexual conduct. Ake Green is a hero and we are grateful for his stand and his perseverance.”

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038730.cfm

CHRISTMAS TREES SPOUTING EVERYWHERE

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) told federal officials that the lighted, decorated tree on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol — known in recent years as the ‘Holiday Tree’ — should be renamed the ‘Capitol Christmas Tree,’ as it was called until the late 1990s. Hastert’s spokesman said, “The speaker believes a Christmas tree is a Christmas tree, and it is as simple as that.”

LOWE’S CHANGES, NOW CALLS THEM CHRISTMAS TREES

I told you yesterday that Lowe’s home improvement stores were advertising trees as “holiday trees.” After one day of hearing from their customers, Lowe’s went into full retreat, and has immediately gone back to advertising them as “Christmas trees.”

Here is the statement Lowe’s issued: “To ensure consistency of our message and to avoid confusion among our customers, we are now referring to the trees only as 'Christmas Trees.'
We have also removed a banner that read, ‘ Holiday Trees’ from the front of our stores.”

All these are signs that ordinary Americans are just about fed up to here with political correctness run amok, and signs that when we make our voices heard, we can make a difference in the standards that are honored in our culture.

Friends, do not be fooled into thinking the move back to calling them “Christmas trees” is insignificant. If it wasn’t important, the left wouldn’t have pressed to call them something else, and wouldn’t be complaining about this return to history and common sense.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47634

DISNEYLAND GOES PC FOR CHRISTMAS

I’ve asked you to send me examples of possible anti-Christmas bias. Here is one from a member of the Idaho Values Alliance network.

“We went to Disneyland the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and went on the ‘It's a Small World’ ride. On the ride, they had replaced the song "It's a Small World" with "Jingle Bells" instead. On all of the writing in English, every greeting said "Happy Holidays" or "Peace on Earth". We couldn't read many of the other languages, but the Spanish still said, "Feliz Navidad" which, I believe, means Merry Christmas. Anyway, thought you might enjoy, or be saddened is more like it!”

A family in the Detroit area puts a seasonal display in their front yard every year, a display which includes a Santa, Mrs. Claus, Minnie Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and a nativity scene. They received a letter from their homeowners association directing them to remove the nativity scene and the nativity scene only. Apparently the Clauses and Minnie and Winnie do not violate the homeowners’ covenant restrictions, but Jesus does.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051129/LIFESTYLE04/511290380/1005/LIFESTYLE

PROFESSOR APOLOGIZES FOR CALLING INTELLIGENT DESIGN “MYTHOLOGY”

I mentioned last week that the University of Kansas will offer a course in intelligent design and creationism in the spring semester. In the original class title, they were identified as “mythologies.”

The professor who is to teach the class wrote this in a widely distributed email: “The fundies (fundamentalists) want it all taught in a science class. But this will be a nice slap in their big, fat face by teaching it as a religious studies class under the category ‘mythology.’”

How’s that for an objective, unbiased approach to academic inquiry?

His email generated enough response, including concern from Kansas legislators who must approve KU’s budget every year, that the professor yesterday issued an apology, saying his remarks were “ill-advised” and “offensive,” and removed the word “mythology” from the course title.

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/
news/nation/13286369.htm

ETHICAL DANGERS OF EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH

One of the little known realities of embryonic stem cell research is that human eggs must be derived from donors before any experimenting can be done. This creates serious moral dangers, including the unethical procurement of eggs.

The South Korean scientist who has been leading the effort to clone human beings has been forced to admit that, because enough voluntary donors could not be found, his hospital paid $1400 to female lab assistants and junior scientists to obtain eggs for research.

Ovarian hyper-stimulation, the technique used to obtain the eggs, poses serious medical risks to women, including stroke, heart attack, blood clots and even death. For these reasons, the FDA has never approved most of the drugs required by these procedures. Even the UN General Assembly has stated that donations of eggs will inevitably lead to exploitation of women.

Meanwhile, surgeons in England will attempt early next year to assist patients who have suffered paralysis from motorbike accidents with stem cells derived from the lining of nasal passages. There is no ethical problem with stem cells derived from this source, and adult stem cells are already being used therapeutically to treat over 60 conditions and diseases, while not one use has yet been found for embryonic stem cells.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/
story/0,11381,1653838,00.html

DECALOGUE STONES IN GRANITE AND MARBLE

Our friends at the Biblical Worldview Learning Center are making granite and marble replications of the Ten Commandments available in different sizes on their website. You can go directly to the display page at:

http://www.biblicalview.com/rcProdmain.asp?id=54

Governor Kempthorne: It's a Christmas Tree

2005-11-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

GOVERNOR KEMPTHORNE RESISTS POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, CALLS CHRISTMAS TREE BY ITS ACTUAL NAME

Governor Kempthorne resisted the pressures of political correctness this year by describing this year’s tree at the Statehouse not as a “Holiday” tree but as what it actually is, a “Christmas” tree.

In his press release, he refers in the opening paragraph to the “official Capitol Christmas Tree” and in the fourth, he calls it “the official state Christmas Tree.” This reverses a trend in which the tree had been called the “Holiday” tree since 2000.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE CALL THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE TODAY AND THANK HIM. We want to make it as appealing as possible for our civic leaders to do the right thing, and one way to do that is for them to hear encouraging words from us when they do something that pleases us. They usually only hear from us when we have a gripe.

Please call his office today, as soon as you can. YOU MAY REACH THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE AT 334-2100. Be friendly, courteous, and gracious, and simply ask the staff to pass along to the governor how much you appreciate the governor calling this year’s Christmas tree by its rightful name. It’ll take 30 seconds and do a world of good.

If you’d prefer to send Governor Kempthorne an email, he can be reached at:

governor@gov.idaho.gov

If the governor hears from enough of his constituents, it greatly improves the likelihood that he will make the same decision next year.

On a slightly different note, please send me any personal experiences you have this season that reflect bias against Christmas, whether in school, the workplace, your neighborhood, or in civic affairs. Please only send stories you would be willing to have me share in these daily emails, and include contact information in your communication.

ILLUSTRATING THE POINT: LIGHTING OF THE MENORAH

Last year the Jewish community in Boise held a menorah lighting ceremony to mark the beginning of Hanukkah. To see how overboard we have gone with this Christmas tree business, imagine the response if the Jewish community was pressured to stop calling it a “menorah” and was told, in the interest of cultural sensitivity, to refer to it as a “Holiday Candlestick.”

By denying the societal, historical, and religious significance of such symbols, we do not enrich our culture. Rather, we leach out the things that give it color and variety and drive things toward a bland sameness.

Tolerance in its highest and best form is a willingness on our part to allow others, whether they are in the minority or the majority, to enjoy and celebrate their traditions without insisting that they must accommodate their observances and customs to my personal standards.

VICTORY FOR CHRISTMAS IN BOSTON

After public outcry and public pressure, the mayor of Boston has conceded and will call his city’s tree a “Christmas” tree after all. Boston’s tree is a gift from Nova Scotia given annually by its people to commemorate the generosity of the people of Boston following a World War I explosion of a munitions ship in Halifax harbor. When he heard about the mayor’s plans to call it a “Holiday” tree, the Canadian donor threatened to run the majestic evergreen through a wood chipper.

In another victory for the Judeo-Christian tradition, the mayor of Encinitas, California renamed the city’s holiday parade a “Christmas” parade. The mayor was evidently willing to brave the criticism of the atheist director of the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Southern California in the process.

TEN COMPANIES REFUSE TO MENTION CHRISTMAS IN ADVERTISING

The American Family Association reviewed 280 pages of advertising inserts in newspapers over the Thanksgiving weekend, and found that only one of the eleven companies they surveyed mentioned “Christmas” in their circulars (McRae’s/Belks).

Despite the fact that they use Christmas to generate about one-fifth of their annual sales, the following companies did not mention Christmas a single time in their 260 pages of insert promotions: Target, Kroger, Office Max, Walgreens, Sears, Staples, Lowe's, J.C. Penney, Dell and Best Buy.

However, ordinary consumers like you and me can make a difference. Macy’s has changed its approach to Christmas due to the enormous amount of feedback they received last year. It now encourages associates to say “Merry Christmas,” offers “Merry Christmas” electronic gift cards, uses the word “Christmas” in its 2005 TV jingle and in its holiday print ads, and features “Merry Christmas” prominently in a number of different places throughout the stores. The flagship store in New York this year will feature the theme “Christmas Time in the City.”

http://www.afa.net/federatedstores.asp

To sign AFA’s petition:

http://www.afa.net/Petitions/SignPetition.asp?id=1480

ANNUAL BANQUET FOR BETHEL MINISTRIES

Faith-based ministries have historically done the best job dealing with a whole range of social challenges. One of these challenges is assisting men who have just been released from prison and need help making the transition from life on the inside to life on the outside.

Bethel Ministries works right here in our community to make our community a safer place to live by providing that kind of ministry. Bethel Ministries currently operates three transitional residential houses in the Boise area. Inmates who have applied, been screened and accepted live in these houses for six months after release from prison, during which time they attend nightly classes and participate in Bible study and prayer sessions both morning and evening.

In the three years Bethel has been operational, just 5% of the men they have helped have gone back to prison, a recidivism rate well below the national average. Bethel Ministries has been awarded special recognition for its success by both The Idaho Department of Corrections and Prison Fellowship.

Bethel’s annual Graduation and Appreciation banquet will be held this year on Dec. 10 at 6:00 PM at Mountain View Church of the Brethren. If you’d like more information, please contact David McKellip at mtdove@msn.com.

Supreme Court to Hear Abortion Case Wednesday

2005-11-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

To sign up to receive these updates via email: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

GENEROUS MATCHING GIFT OFFER

A local businessman has committed a $5,000 year-end gift to the launch of the Idaho Values Alliance – if he can find a donor who will match his generosity. If you’d like to participate in this matching gift offer, simply contact me by replying to this email or calling at (208) 841-2546.

Please think of the IVA as you make your end-of-the-year donation plans.

Idaho Values Alliance
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

IVA WEBSITE STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The Idaho Values Alliance website is being built as we speak. We will let you know as soon as it comes online.

PILGRIMS REJECT COMMUNALISM

Socialism – “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need” – has a certain sophomoric appeal, and yet has never, in the real world of living people, worked. The Pilgrims of Plymouth Rock discovered the pitfalls of socialism and the beauty of private property and free enterprise the hard way.

Our Pilgrim fathers suffered through two meager harvests, in 1621 and 1622, while operating under the principle that all property belonged to the community rather than to individuals and families. Everyone received the same share of the produce, regardless of his contribution of time, energy, and industry.

This inevitably led to indolence, excuses to avoid work, and complaints of injustice, slavery, and tyranny. The leadership quickly recognized that if they were to survive, a new approach was needed. So they divided the land up among the members of the colony, and each landowner was allotted his own land and was responsible for it. The results were almost instantaneous, and the harvest of 1623 was plentiful.

As William Bradford notes, “This had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been by any means the Governor or any other could use . . . and gave far better content.”

Private ownership of the means of production and free enterprise always have been and always will be key principles for any society that wishes to prosper.

PARENTAL NOTIFICATION LAW BEFORE U.S. SUPREME COURT

In a case the highlights the importance of confirming Sam Alito to the Supreme Court as soon as possible, the Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday on its first major abortion case in five years, reviewing a New Hampshire state law that requires parents to be notified if their underage daughter seeks an abortion.

It is, of course, essential that parents be involved in every major medical decision their teenage daughters make, and no decision has more long-term physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual consequences than the decision to abort a baby.

It should come as no surprise that the challenge to this parental notification law came from Planned Parenthood. This case will test the “undue burden” standard which Sandra Day O’Connor, whom Alito is scheduled to replace, is responsible for. The problem, of course, is that activist judges have yet to meet a “burden” they do not consider “undue.”

Court tradition is that new justices do not participate in decisions on cases argued before the justice was confirmed, but the court can establish its own rules and could permit Alito to participate even if he was not present for oral arguments.

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051127-122535-4554r.htm

ABORTION RESULTS IN SEVERE GENDER IMBALANCE

A UN researcher has concluded that the availability of abortion services worldwide, which is considered by many women to be a fundamental right, is a form of “gendercide” because so many more female babies are aborted than male babies.

His conclusion is that, because of sex-selection abortions and infanticide, there are 200 million fewer women in the world-wide population today than there should be, based on normal birth rates. He said, “We are confronted with the slaughter of Eve, a systematic gendercide of tragic proportions.”

Two of the tragic consequences of this trend are increasing sexual violence against women and a dramatic rise in sex trafficking, in which young women are kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery. And yet the voices on the left will continue to tell us that abortion is actually good for women, and that unrestricted access to abortion must be preserved at all costs.

http://www.lifenews.com/nat1825.html

FIFTY ABORTED BABIES SURVIVE EVERY YEAR IN BRITAIN

A government agency in Britain is launching an inquiry into doctors’ reports that up to 50 babies a year are born alive after botched National Health Service abortions.

Its guidelines say that babies aborted after more than 21 weeks and six days of gestation should have their hearts stopped by an injection of potassium chloride before being delivered, but few doctors are willing or able to perform that delicate procedure.

As a result, babies can, as one doctor said, “…be born breathing and crying at 19 weeks’ gestation. I am not anti-abortion, but as far as I am concerned this is sub-standard medicine.”
In the past decade, doctors’ skill in saving the lives of premature babies has improved radically, and now at least 70%-80% of babies in their 23rd or 24th week of gestation survive long-term.

Abortion on demand is allowed in Britain up to 24 weeks — more than halfway through a normal pregnancy and the highest legal limit for such terminations in Europe. France and Germany permit “social” abortions only up to the 10th and 12th weeks respectively.

Said one doctor, “The simplest answer is to change the law and reduce the upper limit to 18 weeks.”

In a related story, a doctor in Australia will stand trial for manslaughter for inducing a late-term abortion in which the baby was born alive and survived for five hours before dying. It will be the first such prosecution in Australia since the 1970s. This doctor is responsible for over 10,000 abortions.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1892696,00.html

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/
story_page/0,5744,17367629^23289,00.html

ELTON JOHN TO “MARRY” GAY PARTNER DECEMBER 21

The Idaho Values Alliance will work with like-minded legislators and groups to encourage passage of an amendment to the Idaho state constitution that will define marriage as the union of a man and a woman and prohibit the legal recognition of marriage counterfeits such as civil unions.

England recently passed the “Civil Partnership Act,” which will enable gay couples to gain legal recognition for their relationships beginning next month. It illustrates the necessity we have here in Idaho to establish clear and unambiguous public policy regarding what kind of sexual unions we will grant our highest endorsement.

Elton John and his partner will tie the knot on December 21, becoming one of the first same-sex couples to "marry" following the introduction of the Civil Partnership Act.

John’s partner correctly observed that this represents an enormous shift in England’s understanding of marriage. “From a social standpoint, I think it's hugely significant. It is a major, major change. It is one of the defining issues of our times.”

http://www.thisislondon.com/showbiz/articles/21021450?source=PA&ct=5

HOMOSEXUAL PARTNER TRYING TO CLAIM SPOUSAL PROTECTION FROM TESTIFYING

One of the unforeseen consequnces of granting special rights to homosexuals is that it on occasion may actually interfere with justice.

A gay man charged with helping his lover embezzle from a wealthy school district has asked a judge to rule that state law protecting spouses from having to testify against each other also applies to same-sex partners. The two also registered as domestic partners in New York City, where they live, in 2002.

Auditors say that in all, $11.2 million was taken from the Long Island district, and state Comptroller Alan Hevesi has called the case "the largest, most remarkable, most extraordinary theft" from a school system in American history.

Prosecutors have yet to respond to the motion and Judge Alan Honorof has not indicated how he might rule.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176711,00.html

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DISCRIMINATES AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN ADMISSIONS
I’ve mentioned this story before, but the University of California system routinely refuses to accept high school work done in religious-viewpoint classes it deems politically incorrect.

But its animus is selective. While refusing to accept work done in classes entitled “Christianity's Influence on American History,” “Special Providence: American Government,” and “Christianity and Morality in American Literature,” it accepts credits from courses such as “Western Civilization: The Jewish Experience,” and “Intro to Buddhism.”

In addition, it refuses to accept any credits for classes in which the theory of origins is taught from the scientific point of view of intelligent design. These restrictions, of course, come from the very people who claim to be all about academic freedom, freedom of thought, and making the university a marketplace of ideas.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20051123-1631-cnsuc-lawsuit.html

FAITH IS GOOD FOR YOUR WALLET

Economist Jonathan Gruber has found that, on average, a household with double the rate of religious attendance as another household has 9.1 percent more income. That extra participation in religious activity correlates with 16 percent less welfare participation than the usual rate, 4 percent lower odds of being divorced and 4.4 percent increased chances of being married.

The London Telegraph reports on a study that indicates that married men with similar jobs and education make up to six percent more than their single male counterparts.
According to researchers, the qualities that make men marriage material are also attributes that appeal to employers.

(Source: Pastor’s Weekly Briefing, Focus on the Family)

http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/27/nwed27.xml

EUROPEAN BIRTH RATES = CULTURAL SUICIDE

The Judeo-Christian tradition urges us to “be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.” However, the left has been beating an incessant drumbeat for decades which denigrates the value of motherhood, and pressures women to make their mark in the world rather than on their children.

This devaluing of the importane of motherhood inevitably leads to lower birth rates with troublesome consequences for a society. So-called “zero population growth” strategies are nothing more than a form of cultural suicide.

According to the European Commission, of the six most populous European Union states, only France and Britain are projected to see population increases by 2050. Italy, Spain and Germany all have fertility rates of less than 1.3 children per woman -- compared with the classic "replacement rate" for a population of 2.1 children.

The situation in Russia is even grimmer. By midcentury, demographic trends suggest that the population of the country could decline by a fifth. Nearly one in five women in Finland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands in her early 40s is childless.

With native European populations not producing enough children to maintain current population levels, the wave of the Arab immigration could push the proportion of Muslims in France, Italy and Spain up to a quarter or even a third of their population by mid-century. Christian civilization in Europe will face extinction if the trend is not reversed.

In 1900, according to U.N. estimates, one out of four human beings on the planet -- 24.7 percent -- lived in Europe. Today, the European population share is a little more than 10 percent. By 2025 -- with the average woman in the European Union bearing just 1.48 children in her lifetime -- the ratio of Europeans to everyone else is projected to be less than one in 14 -- 7 percent.

http://insider.washingtontimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20051124-121045-6980r

MOSQUE THAT WILL HOLD 70,000 PLANNED FOR LONDON

An Islamic organization with suspected ties to Al Qaida has announced plans to build a mosque in London which, with adjacent buildings, will have room for 70,000 worshippers. Its goal is to have the complex built in time for the 2012 Olympic Games. By contrast, the largest house of Christian worship in England seats 3,000.

The organization planning the mosque, Tablighi Jamaat, has come under scrutiny from western security agencies since 9/11. Two years ago, a senior FBI anti-terrorism official claimed it was a recruiting ground for Al-Qaeda. British police investigated a report that the leader of the July 7 London bombers had attended its present headquarters in England. And in August, Bavaria expelled three members of the organization on the grounds that it promoted Islamic extremism.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1892780,00.html

LOWE’S HOME IMPROVEMENT GOES PC – IN ENGLISH

An alert shopper at the Lowe’s in Austin Texas snapped a picture of a banner that advertised “Holiday Trees” in English. However, the trees were described, on the same banner, as “Christmas Trees” in Spanish. All the available stands in the store, fortunately, were “Christmas tree stands.”

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47600

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense."

~ Salmon P. Chase, former Secretary of the Treasury

Let Target Know About Its Christmas Ban

2005-11-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

Note: The daily update will resume on Monday, Nov. 28. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE WEBSITE BEING BUILT

We’re still building our IVA website, so you will continue to get these email updates under the KCC banner until we’re up and running. I’ll let you know as soon as the website is accessible. Thanks for your patience!

ACTION ALERT: LET TARGET KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT ITS CHRISTMAS BAN

I mentioned at the Idaho Values Alliance reception Monday that one of the things we would do is send out action alerts to our network so you’ll know when and how to make our voices heard. Here’s the first one!

Target has banned any mention of Christmas in any in-store displays or advertising campaigns. This is on top of the ban it instituted last year on the Salvation Army bell-ringers.

There are two things we can do. The first is join the boycott called by the American Family Association by refusing to shop at Target over the Thanksgiving weekend, which is traditionally the busiest shopping period of the year.

Second, call the CEO of Target, Robert Ulrich, by phone and respectfully and kindly let him know that you have chosen not to shop in his stores over the Thanksgiving weekend, and that his company’s ban on Christmas is prompting you to reconsider spending money in his stores again. You can reach him at 612-696-6163.

NINTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS UPHOLDS MUSLIM INDOCTRINATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Two weeks ago, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that you have no right as a parent to oversee the sex education your first grader receives in public school. This week they ruled that you have no right to question the religious indoctrination your child receives in public school. Idaho is in the Ninth Circuit, so these rulings have a direct bearing on Idaho public life.

I’ve previously mentioned a curriculum used by various California public schools in which 7th graders impersonate Muslims for two weeks. The Ninth Circuit of Appeals ruled this week that this indoctrination is perfectly acceptable. Their ruling highlights by contrast the ongoing hostility found in many courtrooms to traditional Christianity.

The curriculum materials informed students that during the simulation they would “become Muslims.” The statement, “Remember Allah always so that you may prosper” was printed on the materials in bold face.

Students were required to take Islamic names, write them on ID tags that were emblazoned with a star and crescent, and wear the tags around their necks.

They memorized prayers which they recited in front of the teacher. They made banners which said, “In the name of God, the most gracious, most compassionate. Praise be to God” and hung them on the walls of the classroom. They were required to memorize parts of the Koran, practice the Five Pillars of Faith, and play a dice game called “The Jihad.”

In other words, the class amounted to a catechism in Islam. Imagine for a moment that the curriculum instead had required students to “become Christians,” assume a biblical name, wear a cross necklace for two weeks, memorize and repeat the Lord’s Prayer in front of the class, memorize Bible verses, make praise banners for the walls of the classroom, and undergo baptism in the school swimming pool “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” You’d have to be from another planet to think the Ninth Circuit wouldn’t prohibit that so fast it’d give you a headache. The ruling will almost certainly be appealed.

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038681.cfm

IF NEWDOW IS SUCCESSFUL, PULL OUT THE HAMMER AND CHISEL

Michael Newdow, as you know by now, has filed suit in an effort to remove the official national motto, “In God We Trust,” from all U.S. coinage and currency. If he is successful, workmen will have a tough assignment: removing the phrase from the wall above the speaker's dais in the House chamber, as well as the entrance to the Senate chamber, where the words are prominently engraved.

MASSACHUSETTS CHURCHES ACTIVE IN GATHERING MARRIAGE INITIATIVE SIGNATURES

Over 1200 communities of faith have joined in the effort to give Massachusetts citizens the right to define marriage at the ballot box. So far their efforts have resulted in gathering well more than the 65,000 signatures required. What is significant here is that these churches have overcome traditional squeamishness about encouraging and enabling their own parishioners to become directly involved in helping to establish sound family policy in the state.

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS WILL TEACH INTELLIGENT DESIGN – AS MYTH

Despite the fact that Intelligent Design is based on scientific concepts such as irreducible complexity, laws of genetics, the absence of transitional forms in the fossil record, and the laws of thermodynamics, the left continues to insist that ID is nothing more than a religious fabrication.

The Religious Studies department at the University of Kansas will offer a class next year that discusses ID, but only as a religious myth. The title of the class: "Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and Other Religious Mythologies."

The credibility of ID is, of course, of significance to every American since our system of government is based on the “self-evident” truth that our rights come to us from the Creator and not from government.

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051122-105208-6806r.htm

GEORGE WASHINGTON’S THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION

“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection and favor, ... we unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our nation and other transgressions.”

~ President George Washington, October 3, 1789

Idaho Values Alliance Reception a Success

2005-11-22T00:34:00.000-07:00

To sign up for these email updates: http://www.keepthecommandmentsidaho.com/

LAST NIGHT’S IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE RECEPTION A SUCCESS

Almost 100 people crowded a reception last night to introduce the vision, mission, and strategy of the Idaho Values Alliance. Former Congressman Helen Chenoweth-Hage graciously called in to express her support of this new organization.

Current legislators Rep. Bill Sali and Sen. Gerry Sweet spoke to guests about the need for an organization like the IVA to be a voice for our values, and about the strategic importance of well-designed voters’ guides (an IVA priority) in giving the electorate the information it needs to make intelligent decisions at the polls.

THE MISSION AND STRATEGY OF THE IVA

The mission of the IVA will be to protect our God-given right (especially the right to religious liberty), protect the sanctity of marriage and the family, protect the sanctity of life, and restrain judicial activism.

We will work to accomplish this mission through information (these daily email updates, the IVA website, which will soon be up and running, and the IVA Blog), representation (giving you a voice in the media and in the legislature), mobilization (alerting you to key public policy issues on which your voice needs to be heard), voter information (through voters’ guides for both legislative races and judicial elections), and developing a statewide network so Idahoans from all over the state who share our values can work together.

GOAL: TO BE A PRESENCE IN THE 2006 LEGISLATURE

Our goal in this start-up phase is to raise sufficient resources so that we can be a presence in the upcoming legislative session. A number of important issues will be addressed by the 2006 legislature, including a proposed amendment to the Idaho constitution which will define marriage.

If you’d like to help us establish this new presence in Idaho public policy, you may send your contributions to:

Idaho Values Alliance
PO Box 44873
Boise, ID 83711

If we all pull together, and contribute what we can in time, money, energy, and effort, I believe we can make a lasting contribution to the public life of this state.

UPDATE ON MARRIAGE AMENDMENT

Ongoing discussions are taking place to develop the wording of the proposed amendment to the Idaho constitution dealing with marriage. It is of central importance that this process result in language that is clear, unambiguous, and will resolve this issue definitively.

It is critical that the language of the amendment not only define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, but also prohibit recognition of marriage counterfeits, such as civil unions and domestic partnerships. Any ambiguity or loophole on this latter issue could actually weaken rather than strengthen Idaho’s defense of natural marriage.

In 2004, eight of the 11 amendments on state ballots not only defined marriage but prohibited civil unions, and all passed by overwhelming margins. It is not politically fatal to present language that draws a bright line on what domestic arrangements the state will grant its highest endorsement.

States with amendments that did not explicitly deal with marriage counterfeits, such as Montana and Oregon, immediately were faced with a raft of proposals designed to grant recognition to pseudo-marriages. The bottom line is that an amendment that does not deal with civil unions, rather than resolving the issue once and for all, virtually guarantees that the issue will be an ongoing source of tension and conflict.

The Idaho Values Alliance will be working on behalf of Idahoans to see that a clear and definitive amendment is offered to legislators at the statehouse and citizens at the ballot box.

Welcome to the New Idaho Values Alliance Blog

2005-11-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

RECEPTION TO ANNOUNCE IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE TONIGHT

A reception to announce the launch of a new public policy organization, the Idaho Values Alliance, will be held tonight at 7:00 PM at 9465 Emerald. This is beautiful, brand-new two story business center is located at the intersection of Emerald and Sailfish, between Maple Grove and Mitchell. You may still RSVP by calling Lin and Tereasa Waterman at 344-0028.

JUDGE WINMILL STRIKES BLOW AGAINST RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

Judicial activism is alive and well in Idaho, as I pointed out in an update last week. Federal Judge Lynn Winmill inserted himself into the religious practices of the Boise Rescue Mission by telling them what they can and cannot do with men who seek help at the River of Life center, formerly Community House.

A guest opinion appears in today's Idaho Statesman arguing that Judge Winmill's ruling against the Boise Rescue Mission was a victory for religious freedom. But of course it was the exact opposite. The Rescue Mission is funded entirely by private donations, and should be allowed to run its outreach to needy men in the way that it thinks is best without interference from activist judges.

PROPERTY TAX ARTICLE HAS GLARING OMISSION

A front page feature article in yesterday’s Idaho Statesman on the property tax challenges our state faces is fascinating for a simple reason. There is only one mention of reducing the size of state government as a possible solution to growing tax pressures, and this mention is buried in the middle of the piece.

Nowhere in the article is there any discussion of reducing state expenditures as a way of easing the tax burden on Idaho families. But there is constant talk of tax-shifting, as if the amount the state must raise is determined by the laws of nature, and so if it cannot be generated through property taxes it must generated from some place else.

The property tax issue is a relevant one for pro-family groups, because rising property tax rates directly impact families by reducing their disposable income, exerting pressure on both parents to enter the work force, and pricing families out of affordable housing.

HOW'S THIS FOR A CHANGE?

The premier of Victoria, a state in Australia, has urged every school in his region not to ban the celebration of Christmas. "All schools and kindergartens should be able to have nativity plays and Christian celebrations,'' he said. "The Government is keen to ensure there are no bans on any of these sorts of activities.Those who don't wish to participate don't have to, and those who wish to celebrate in their own way can do so."

This demonstrates the essence of what tolerance and respect for conscience is all about. No one should be forced to participate in an observance they find offensive to their own conscience. Yet at the same time, a small minority should not be permitted to exercise tyrannical control over the majority. That is hardly tolerance at all.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0%2C5478%2C17309442%25255E2862%2C00.html

BIBLE BELT MORE GENEROUS THAN NEW ENGLAND

One definition of a liberal is that he believes that compassion is giving away other people's money. Conservatives, on the other hand, are often condemned as stingy for resisting ever-expanding government programs, and wanting families to keep more of their own money so that they can make uncoerced decisions about which compassionate outreaches they will support. It turns out that, in general, the more conservative a region is, the more generous it is to charitable causes.

A recent study by the Catalogue for Philanthropy indicated that New England is the stingiest region in the country, despite being the center of "compassionate" liberalism, while the Bible Belt is the most generous. Mississippi graded out as the most generous state in the union, while New Hampshire graded out as the least. Idaho ranked 11th.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/
0%2C2933%2C176163%2C00.html

U.S. SENATOR ATTENDS RALLY IN SUPPORT OF THREATENED TEN COMMANDMENTS MONUMENT

The ACLU has filed suit against a Ten Commandments monument on the courthouse lawn in Haskell County, Oklahoma. Yesterday, Sen. Tom Coburn attended a 300-person rally in support of the monument, and said, ''I wish this was in every courthouse on the lawn. We need more of this, not less.''

The truth is that if we respect freedom of religion and speech as the founders did, the elected leaders of Haskell County will have the freedom to post the Ten Commandments anywhere they want to. What's most unfortunate is that these decisions are being made by judges rather than by the chosen representatives of the people.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/
0%2C2933%2C176158%2C00.html

NO MORE CHILDREN IN SANTA'S LAP: SWITZERLAND

In a move that was probably eventually inevitable in a sexually permissive and highly litigious culture, Swiss Santa Clauses have been banned from sitting children on their laps because of the risk that they might be accused of pedophilia. The Society of St Nicholases issued the ruling to its 100 professional members after parents expressed concern about close contact between their children and the men.

http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/15/wsanta15.xml

DARWIN EXHIBIT FAILS TO ATTRACT A SINGLE CORPORATE SPONSOR

In a sign that we are gaining ground in the battle for the American mind over the subject of origins, the American Museum of Natural History in New York was unable to find a corporate sponsor for its exhibition celebrating the life of Charles Darwin.

Corporations do not want to take sides on this issue, because they recognize that many of their patrons find the theory of evolution to be scientifically and morally bankrupt.

Previous exhibitions, on the lives of Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein, had attracted the corporate sponsorship of the Bank of America and the financial services provider TIAA-CREF.

http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/20/wdarwin20.xml

BUSH ADVANCES RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN CHINA

In a boost to religious freedom everywhere, President Bush’s first official event in his visit to China was to attend a worship service on one of five (five!) licensed Protestant churches in Beijing. He signed the guest book, “May God bless the Christians of China.”

China is one of the eight worst countries in the world for religious repression, and the Catholic church is a particular target. China broke ties with the Vatican in 1951 and now insists that Catholics worship only in churches approved by the state. Catholics who worship in unofficial churches and private homes risk arrest, and are frequently harassed, fined and sometimes sent to labor camps. Chinese authorities recently arrested a priest and 10 seminarians from the nation's underground Catholic Church.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176107,00.html

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/
1103AP_Vatican_China_Arrests.html

FRANCE SHOWS THE DANGERS OF MULTICULTURALISM

Europe provides an example for us of what can happen to a culture that makes multiculturalism and diversity a higher priority than unity and assimilation. Our motto in the U.S. has always been “E Pluribus Unum” – “Out of many, one.” We have prided ourselves on being a “melting pot,” in which immigrants preserve their love of their native traditions and heritage and yet merge that into a newer and higher identity as Americans.

Bruce Bawer, author of While Europe Slept, due out on February, wrote an incisive commentary in last Thursday’s Christian Science Monitor. In it, he argues that France has brought some its problems upon itself by cooperating with Muslim immigrants who wish to remain resolutely separate from French culture. In other words, these immigrants consider themselves Muslim but not French.

A government report released last spring illustrates the cultural divide the French government has permitted and even fostered. Increasing numbers of Muslim students refuse to sing, dance, participate in sports, sketch a face, or even play an instrument because of Koranic scruples. They won’t draw a right angle because it looks like part of the Christian cross.

One school has separate locker rooms so that Muslims do not “have to undress alongside the impure.” Another school has separate restrooms, one marked “Muslims,” the other marked “Frenchmen.”

Family honor among Norwegians of Pakistani descent depends upon not being perceived as integrated into the host society. Many Muslims enjoy Western prosperity but reject Western culture, as evidenced by regular travel back to their homelands. There are more direct flights from Oslo these days to Islamabad than there are to the United States.

According to Bawer, many European Muslims look at their own neighborhoods as colonies in the midst of enemy territory, and increasingly demand that they be granted autonomous authority over these Islamic outposts. He cites instances in Britain, Belgium, Denmark, and France where Muslims leaders are pressing authorities to designate certain areas as under Islamic jurisdiction. In many cities, police have stopped patrolling Muslim enclaves, having effectively handed local control in those areas over to religious leaders.

One official in France even met with an imam outside of the Muslim district in obeisance to the imam’s declaration that it was Islamic territory. It comes then as no surprise that a Muslim rioter in Denmark declared to police, “This area belongs to us!”

Bawer concludes his article this way:

“By accepting separatism, Europe is becoming a house divided against itself. Governments must take a firm, aggressive, integration-oriented line - must, among other things, end separate treatment in schools and turn welfare recipients into workers. Above all, they must stand alongside Muslims who wish to integrate - not those who seek to colonize. And they must hope - and pray - that it isn't already too late.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1117/p09s02-coop.html

PUBLIC POLICY QUOTE OF THE DAY

"On the south banks of Washington's Tidal Basin, Thomas Jefferson still speaks: 'God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?’ Jefferson's words are a forceful and explicit warning that to remove God from this country will destroy it."

– Senator Robert Byrd in 1962 after the Supreme Court removed prayer from public schools