It appears Michael Newdow will replace Madalyn Murray O’Hair as the most hated person in America if he hasn't already.
I myself have written a couple of letters to the editor concerning the pledge. So I am familiar with this issue.
The pledge is one of the many xtian hot buttons like evolution, gay marriage, and abortion.
These are a few of the many reasons why the republicans won in 2004. The republicans love this stuff. They pretent to be surprized, amazed and horrified, but in reality they are rubbing thier hands together with glee.
I'm not saying Mr. Newdow should stop trying to restore the pledge, I support his effort. I just wish the "media" would stop using negative terms to decribe him, such as the "Under God" foe.
Media liberal bias my ass. (It may have been once, but not anymore) They should call him a hero for defending the constitution. A brave man for standing up for his rights as an American citizen. The xtians complain of percecution, they should try standing on the court house steps or the street corner and yell "I'm an athiest!" See what kind of reaction they get from the people on the street. When a preacher stands on his soap box, and he may be a bit radical. Everyone, most everyone will tolerate him, its his right..... But if its a liberal with a unpoplur message, what happens? How dare they, glares, the finger, spitting, even a fist fight if the message is particularity offensive.
So much for my ranting today, here is the lastest news concerning Mr. Newdow.
'Under God' foe sues again over pledge
Atheist joined in suit by other parents
Thursday, January 6, 2005 Posted: 10:29 AM EST (1529 GMT) SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- An atheist who sued because he did not want his young daughter exposed to the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance has filed another lawsuit -- this time with other parents.
Michael Newdow won his case more than two years ago before a federal appeals court, which said it was an unconstitutional blending of church and state for public school students to pledge to God.
In June, however, the Supreme Court dismissed the case, saying Newdow could not lawfully sue because he did not have custody of his elementary school-aged daughter and because the girl's mother objected to the lawsuit.
In the latest challenge filed Monday in Sacramento federal court, eight co-plaintiffs have joined the suit, and all are custodial parents or the children themselves, Newdow said.
The plaintiffs' names have been withheld from the lawsuit.
"It's because of the potential adverse impacts of having your name on a case like this. That's why they are not named," Newdow said Wednesday.
He had promised to refile when the Supreme Court dismissed his case this summer.
"I want this decided on its merits," said Newdow, a doctor and a lawyer, who again is the attorney in the latest pledge case.
Although the Supreme Court sidestepped the broader question of separation of church and state when it tossed the case, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote separately that the pledge as recited by schoolchildren does not violate the Constitution. Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Clarence Thomas agreed with him.
A fourth justice, Antonin Scalia, removed himself from the case after making off-the-bench remarks that seemed to telegraph his view that the pledge is constitutional.
Rehnquist wrote that the phrase "one nation under God" is more about ceremony and history than about religion. He likened the phrase to the motto "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency, and to the call that opens each session of the high court itself: "God save this honorable court."
Vickram Amar, a constitutional scholar at Hastings College of the Law, said that "this case starts with a 0-4 handicap from the Supreme Court's point of view. Lower court judges are not going to be oblivious to that" when they consider the issue.
No court date has been set.
Jan 6, 2005
Jan 5, 2005
The Montana Human Rights Network "The Good Guys"
Travis is the man!
I wish he could use an assistant.
He does what I do, but gets paid to do it.
Keep up the good work!
I find the Constitution Party down right frightening.
What the Constitution Party is
By TRAVIS McADAM - IR Your Turn - 12/29/04
It would seem that every angle of the hotly-contested legislative race in House District 12 has been covered. The press reported on the recount, the litigation, and the political fallout, as Democrat Jeanne Windham and the Constitution Party's Rick Jore battled for a spot in the Montana House of Representatives.
A significant point, however, was missed. By appointing Jore to the seat, Gov. Judy Martz awarded a fringe political party with a place in the Montana Legislature. Jore is generally described as a "conservative" like Martz, but there is more to the story. There are reasons that members of the Constitution Party have failed to hold state-level office anywhere in the country.While both the Montana and national Constitution Parties like to wrap themselves in God, country and flag, their real agendas are radical. Howard Phillips founded the national Constitution Party in 1992, combining Christian Reconstruction with themes of the militia movement. Reconstructionists believe that civil law should mirror Old Testament biblical law, meaning capital punishment should be extended to gays, lesbians, blasphemers, and adulterers. People who are not "Christian enough" could be denied citizenship, or worse, be executed. The party also promotes "New World Order" conspiracy theories similar to those of the militia movement. The Constitution Party of Montana expanded Phillips' premise. Michael Heit, founder of the state party, proudly proclaims he hasn't paid income taxes since 1987 and is trying to get rid of his Social Security number. Both of these are hallmark practices of groups like the Montana Freemen. In the past, party activists have supported "unorganized militias," a term used by groups like the Militia of Montana in attempts to claim constitutional legitimacy. The current party chairman, Jonathan Martin, brings Religious Right ideology to the table. He and followers regularly picket the Great Falls Planned Parenthood clinic, carrying placards featuring pictures of allegedly aborted fetuses. In the past, both Martin and Heit have lambasted Montana Right to Life for being too moderate.In 2000, Rick Jore joined the Constitution Party. At the time, he was an incumbent Republican representative from Ronan. He left the GOP, saying he needed to belong to a party reflecting his own values. After losing his re-election campaign, Jore hit the Constitution Party speaking circuit, peddling the idea that the GOP is too liberal and no different from Democrats.Jore and the Constitution Party are part of an ultra-conservative faction criticizing the Montana Republican Party's ideology. They insist the GOP is marching towards liberalism, or worse, socialism. This notion is patently absurd, as the Montana Republican Party is widely considered one of the most conservative state parties in all of the country. By choosing Jore, Martz has placed the Constitution Party and Republican conservatism on the same level.Martz says she based her decision on the numbers, so let's take at look at them. There are 5,997 registered voters in HD 12. Jore's vote total comes out to about 26 percent of that population. That is hardly a mandate, which left Martz to choose between the representative of a right-wing, fringe party and a moderate Democrat. Her decision reverberates with partisan political sentiment. Wanting to keep Republicans in control of the House, Martz provided legitimacy to the Constitution Party, something the party had been unable to do on its own. For short-term political gain, Martz has allowed Montana conservatism to take another gigantic step to the right.Travis McAdam is the research director for the Montana Human Rights Network. The Network can be contacted at P.O. Box 1222, Helena, MT 59624.
I wish he could use an assistant.
He does what I do, but gets paid to do it.
Keep up the good work!
I find the Constitution Party down right frightening.
What the Constitution Party is
By TRAVIS McADAM - IR Your Turn - 12/29/04
It would seem that every angle of the hotly-contested legislative race in House District 12 has been covered. The press reported on the recount, the litigation, and the political fallout, as Democrat Jeanne Windham and the Constitution Party's Rick Jore battled for a spot in the Montana House of Representatives.
A significant point, however, was missed. By appointing Jore to the seat, Gov. Judy Martz awarded a fringe political party with a place in the Montana Legislature. Jore is generally described as a "conservative" like Martz, but there is more to the story. There are reasons that members of the Constitution Party have failed to hold state-level office anywhere in the country.While both the Montana and national Constitution Parties like to wrap themselves in God, country and flag, their real agendas are radical. Howard Phillips founded the national Constitution Party in 1992, combining Christian Reconstruction with themes of the militia movement. Reconstructionists believe that civil law should mirror Old Testament biblical law, meaning capital punishment should be extended to gays, lesbians, blasphemers, and adulterers. People who are not "Christian enough" could be denied citizenship, or worse, be executed. The party also promotes "New World Order" conspiracy theories similar to those of the militia movement. The Constitution Party of Montana expanded Phillips' premise. Michael Heit, founder of the state party, proudly proclaims he hasn't paid income taxes since 1987 and is trying to get rid of his Social Security number. Both of these are hallmark practices of groups like the Montana Freemen. In the past, party activists have supported "unorganized militias," a term used by groups like the Militia of Montana in attempts to claim constitutional legitimacy. The current party chairman, Jonathan Martin, brings Religious Right ideology to the table. He and followers regularly picket the Great Falls Planned Parenthood clinic, carrying placards featuring pictures of allegedly aborted fetuses. In the past, both Martin and Heit have lambasted Montana Right to Life for being too moderate.In 2000, Rick Jore joined the Constitution Party. At the time, he was an incumbent Republican representative from Ronan. He left the GOP, saying he needed to belong to a party reflecting his own values. After losing his re-election campaign, Jore hit the Constitution Party speaking circuit, peddling the idea that the GOP is too liberal and no different from Democrats.Jore and the Constitution Party are part of an ultra-conservative faction criticizing the Montana Republican Party's ideology. They insist the GOP is marching towards liberalism, or worse, socialism. This notion is patently absurd, as the Montana Republican Party is widely considered one of the most conservative state parties in all of the country. By choosing Jore, Martz has placed the Constitution Party and Republican conservatism on the same level.Martz says she based her decision on the numbers, so let's take at look at them. There are 5,997 registered voters in HD 12. Jore's vote total comes out to about 26 percent of that population. That is hardly a mandate, which left Martz to choose between the representative of a right-wing, fringe party and a moderate Democrat. Her decision reverberates with partisan political sentiment. Wanting to keep Republicans in control of the House, Martz provided legitimacy to the Constitution Party, something the party had been unable to do on its own. For short-term political gain, Martz has allowed Montana conservatism to take another gigantic step to the right.Travis McAdam is the research director for the Montana Human Rights Network. The Network can be contacted at P.O. Box 1222, Helena, MT 59624.
Hell and judgment Day again! And again
In the following article it says some (really) intense people from Kansas are coming to Montana. I've got to write a letter to the editor about this one. It's an anti-gay church group that goes around harassing liberals/specifically gays. They worship the idea of hell and eternal damnation.
I noticed they bring up judgment day. But as usual, in the same article they talk about people being in Hell now. So again I ask, what is judgment day? I thought that's when God judges each and everyone that has ever walked the earth. "the resurrection of the dead", maybe they thing only saved Christians go straight to heaven and those liberal Christians and other infidels go straight to hell, skip the judgment. That must be it. Um.
I will need to research this idea further.
Here is the newspaper article
Anti-gay group to picket UM, local churches
By Martin J. Kidston - IR Staff Writer - 01/05/05A Kansas church group that abhors homosexuals and claims "God's hatred is one of His holy attributes" is planning a religious protest in Helena next month, targeting several area churches, the Montana Supreme Court, and the University of Montana.
The Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kan., gave notice in a fax Monday of its intention to picket Helena's "pro-gay" churches, as well as the "(homosexual)-infested" University of Montana.
"We need to be sure the people of Helena call to mind that there is a God, a standard, and a day of judgment, and it's not OK to be gay," Shirley Phelps-Roper, a member of the Westboro Church, said in a phone interview Tuesday.The six Helena churches targeted by the group are the Calvary Baptist, St. Helena's Cathedral, St. Peter's Episcopal, St. Paul's United Methodist, Our Redeemer's Lutheran, and First Presbyterian."You can put this mess right at their doorstep," Phelps-Roper said of the six churches. "They've carried the big lie that God loves everyone. Does he love those people that have been burning in Hell since the flood? These churches have enabled the sin that plagues this generation."
The group called its arrival in Helena a "religious protest and warning" that was initiated by a Montana Supreme Court ruling that found that gay and lesbian partners of the Montana university system have the same right to health insurance benefits as their heterosexual partners.The group's fax included a picture of the Montana Supreme Court, along with a reference to that court as the "People's Republic of Sodom."Travis McAdam, research director at the Montana Human Rights Network in Helena, said the Westboro Church is led by Fred Phelps, the father of Phelps-Roper — one of his 13 children.Many of the church's congregants, which Phelps-Roper placed at 100, are related to Phelps by blood, according to the Anti-Defamation League.Phelps, along with his family, has made a career protesting gay and lesbian issues around the country, including the funeral of gay murder victim Matthew Shepard. The Southern Poverty Law Center has classified the church as a hate group."Communities have resoundingly rejected these people," McAdam said. "They're generally treated with scorn by the mainstream, and they're not able to generate much sympathy and support locally. They're really the nastiest of the anti-gay groups that are out there."St. Paul's United Methodist Church, one of six churches targeted by the group in Helena, said it will stand by its Doctrine of Social Principles despite the group's attack.Robyn Morrison of St. Paul's said those principles view both homosexuals and heterosexuals as being equal in sacred worth."All persons need the ministry and guidance of the church in their struggles for human fulfillment, as well as the spiritual and emotional care of the fellowship that enables reconciling relationships with God, with others, and with self," Morrison read from the doctrine.Morrison said St. Paul's would likely meet with the five other Helena churches to formulate an appropriate response to the group's protest."We're embarrassed by it for other Christians," Morrison added.Monsignor Kevin O'Neill, of the Helena Diocese, called the group reprehensible and labeled its statements as vile and hate-filled."They don't seek to reside within the truth," O'Neill said. "Theirs is a narrow, bigoted mind, and you have to pray for them."O'Neill said that while the church does not condone or promote the homosexual lifestyle, it does not discriminate against the sexual orientation of the individual.The group's language, he said, is troublesome."The church does not condone this type of response," O'Neill said. "What they represent is indefensible."The fax distributed by the Westboro Church goes on to thank God for the Indian Ocean tsunamis "that swept 20,000 Swedes and other (homosexual) perverts into Hell."Phelps-Roper said the disaster was God's intention to punish a "filthy, disobedient generation.""Who do you think sent that earthquake and tsunami that killed all those people," she said. "If your message doesn't line up with the scriptures, then it's not God's message."The Westboro Church has gained the attention of equal-rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League. The church's protest signs often bear such statements as "Hell is real: Ask Matt" — a referring to the death of Shepard.The ADL said the group's fliers, such as that received Monday, typically emphasize the race or religion of those it believes are gay. This, according to the ADL, suggests that the church's hate goes beyond it's abhorrence for homosexuals."What appears to be anti-gay rhetoric is often a vehicle for the church's anti-Semitism, hatred of other Christians, and even racism," the ADL said.
I noticed they bring up judgment day. But as usual, in the same article they talk about people being in Hell now. So again I ask, what is judgment day? I thought that's when God judges each and everyone that has ever walked the earth. "the resurrection of the dead", maybe they thing only saved Christians go straight to heaven and those liberal Christians and other infidels go straight to hell, skip the judgment. That must be it. Um.
I will need to research this idea further.
Here is the newspaper article
Anti-gay group to picket UM, local churches
By Martin J. Kidston - IR Staff Writer - 01/05/05A Kansas church group that abhors homosexuals and claims "God's hatred is one of His holy attributes" is planning a religious protest in Helena next month, targeting several area churches, the Montana Supreme Court, and the University of Montana.
The Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kan., gave notice in a fax Monday of its intention to picket Helena's "pro-gay" churches, as well as the "(homosexual)-infested" University of Montana.
"We need to be sure the people of Helena call to mind that there is a God, a standard, and a day of judgment, and it's not OK to be gay," Shirley Phelps-Roper, a member of the Westboro Church, said in a phone interview Tuesday.The six Helena churches targeted by the group are the Calvary Baptist, St. Helena's Cathedral, St. Peter's Episcopal, St. Paul's United Methodist, Our Redeemer's Lutheran, and First Presbyterian."You can put this mess right at their doorstep," Phelps-Roper said of the six churches. "They've carried the big lie that God loves everyone. Does he love those people that have been burning in Hell since the flood? These churches have enabled the sin that plagues this generation."
The group called its arrival in Helena a "religious protest and warning" that was initiated by a Montana Supreme Court ruling that found that gay and lesbian partners of the Montana university system have the same right to health insurance benefits as their heterosexual partners.The group's fax included a picture of the Montana Supreme Court, along with a reference to that court as the "People's Republic of Sodom."Travis McAdam, research director at the Montana Human Rights Network in Helena, said the Westboro Church is led by Fred Phelps, the father of Phelps-Roper — one of his 13 children.Many of the church's congregants, which Phelps-Roper placed at 100, are related to Phelps by blood, according to the Anti-Defamation League.Phelps, along with his family, has made a career protesting gay and lesbian issues around the country, including the funeral of gay murder victim Matthew Shepard. The Southern Poverty Law Center has classified the church as a hate group."Communities have resoundingly rejected these people," McAdam said. "They're generally treated with scorn by the mainstream, and they're not able to generate much sympathy and support locally. They're really the nastiest of the anti-gay groups that are out there."St. Paul's United Methodist Church, one of six churches targeted by the group in Helena, said it will stand by its Doctrine of Social Principles despite the group's attack.Robyn Morrison of St. Paul's said those principles view both homosexuals and heterosexuals as being equal in sacred worth."All persons need the ministry and guidance of the church in their struggles for human fulfillment, as well as the spiritual and emotional care of the fellowship that enables reconciling relationships with God, with others, and with self," Morrison read from the doctrine.Morrison said St. Paul's would likely meet with the five other Helena churches to formulate an appropriate response to the group's protest."We're embarrassed by it for other Christians," Morrison added.Monsignor Kevin O'Neill, of the Helena Diocese, called the group reprehensible and labeled its statements as vile and hate-filled."They don't seek to reside within the truth," O'Neill said. "Theirs is a narrow, bigoted mind, and you have to pray for them."O'Neill said that while the church does not condone or promote the homosexual lifestyle, it does not discriminate against the sexual orientation of the individual.The group's language, he said, is troublesome."The church does not condone this type of response," O'Neill said. "What they represent is indefensible."The fax distributed by the Westboro Church goes on to thank God for the Indian Ocean tsunamis "that swept 20,000 Swedes and other (homosexual) perverts into Hell."Phelps-Roper said the disaster was God's intention to punish a "filthy, disobedient generation.""Who do you think sent that earthquake and tsunami that killed all those people," she said. "If your message doesn't line up with the scriptures, then it's not God's message."The Westboro Church has gained the attention of equal-rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League. The church's protest signs often bear such statements as "Hell is real: Ask Matt" — a referring to the death of Shepard.The ADL said the group's fliers, such as that received Monday, typically emphasize the race or religion of those it believes are gay. This, according to the ADL, suggests that the church's hate goes beyond it's abhorrence for homosexuals."What appears to be anti-gay rhetoric is often a vehicle for the church's anti-Semitism, hatred of other Christians, and even racism," the ADL said.
Dec 2, 2004
Some abstinence programs misleading
Some abstinence programs misleading
Really! no surprize.
These are the same type of people who attack evolution. These are the types who insert intelligent design programs into the public school system, one school board at a time.
Science and facts have no sway with religious fundamentalists. Science is part and parcle of our materialistic world, therefore evil. No doubt about it. If the facts don't fit, oh well. Don't worry about it. Stats lie and everyone knows it. The Greenhouse efffect isn't real, and if it is, again don't worry, Christ will return soon so we don't have to concern ourselves over such scientific mumbo jumbo.
Reasonable people can not reason with unreasonable people. So my goal is not to convince such people they are wrong, but reach out and educate those "agnostics" who vote.
Here is the article:
Report documents misstatements in curricula
Many American youngsters participating in federally funded abstinence-only programs have been taught over the past three years that abortion can lead to sterility and suicide, that half the gay male teenagers in the United States have tested positive for the AIDS virus, and that touching a person's genitals "can result in pregnancy," a congressional staff analysis has found. Those and other assertions are examples of the "false, misleading, or distorted information" in the programs' teaching materials, said the analysis, released yesterday, which reviewed the curricula of more than a dozen projects aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. In providing nearly $170 million next year to fund groups that teach abstinence only, the Bush administration, with backing from the Republican Congress, is investing heavily in a just-say-no strategy for teenagers and sex. But youngsters taking the courses frequently receive medically inaccurate or misleading information, often in direct contradiction to the findings of government scientists, said the report, by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), a critic of the administration who has long argued for comprehensive sex education. Several million children age 9 to 18 have participated in the more than 100 federal abstinence programs since the efforts began in 1999. Waxman's staff reviewed the 13 most commonly used curricula -- those used by at least five programs apiece.The report concluded that two of the curricula were accurate but the 11 others, used by 69 organizations in 25 states, contain unproved claims, subjective conclusions or outright falsehoods regarding reproductive health, gender traits and when life begins. In some cases, Waxman said in an interview, the factual issues were limited to occasional misinterpretations of publicly available data; in others, the materials pervasively presented subjective opinions as scientific fact.Among the misconceptions cited by Waxman's investigators:• A 43-day-old fetus is a "thinking person."• HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can be spread via sweat and tears.• Condoms fail to prevent HIV transmission as often as 31 percent of the time in heterosexual intercourse.One curriculum, called "Me, My World, My Future," teaches that women who have an abortion "are more prone to suicide" and that as many as 10 percent of them become sterile. This contradicts the 2001 edition of a standard obstetrics textbook that says fertility is not affected by elective abortion, the Waxman report said.'Seriously wrong'"I have no objection talking about abstinence as a surefire way to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases," Waxman said. "I don't think we ought to lie to our children about science. Something is seriously wrong when federal tax dollars are being used to mislead kids about basic health facts."When used properly and consistently, condoms fail to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) less than 3 percent of the time, federal researchers say, and it is not known how many gay teenagers are HIV-positive. The assertion regarding gay teenagers may be a misinterpretation of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found that 59 percent of HIV-infected males age 13 to 19 contracted the virus through homosexual relations. Joe. S. McIlhaney Jr., who runs the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, which developed much of the material that was surveyed, said he was "saddened" that Waxman chose to "blast" well-intentioned abstinence educators when there is much the two sides could agree on.McIlhaney acknowledged that his group, which publishes "Sexual Health Today" instruction manuals, made a mistake in describing the relationship between a rare type of infection caused by chlamydia bacteria and heart failure. Chlamydia also causes a common type of sexually transmitted infection, but that is not linked to heart disease. But McIlhaney said Waxman misinterpreted a slide that warns young people about the possibility of pregnancy without intercourse. McIlhaney said the slide accurately describes a real, though small, risk of pregnancy in mutual masturbation.Bush's backingCongress first allocated money for abstinence-only programs in 2001, setting aside $80 million in grants, which go to a variety of religious, civic and medical organizations. To be eligible, groups must limit discussion of contraception to failure rates.President Bush has enthusiastically backed the movement, proposing to spend $270 million on abstinence projects in 2005. Congress reduced that to about $168 million, bringing total abstinence funding to nearly $900 million over five years. It does not appear that the abstinence-only curricula are being taught in the Washington area.Waxman and other liberal sex-education proponents argue that adolescents who take abstinence-only programs are ill-equipped to protect themselves if they become sexually active. According to the latest CDC data, 61 percent of graduating high school seniors have had sex.Supporters of the abstinence approach, also called abstinence until marriage, counter that teaching young people about "safer sex" is an invitation to have sex.Alma Golden, deputy assistant secretary for population affairs in the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that the Waxman report was a political document that did a "disservice to our children." Speaking as a pediatrician, Golden said, she knows "abstaining from sex is the most effective means of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV, STDs and preventing pregnancy."Nonpartisan researchers have been unable to document measurable benefits of the abstinence-only model. Columbia University researchers found that although teenagers who take "virginity pledges" may wait longer to initiate sexual activity, 88 percent eventually have premarital sex.Bill Smith, vice president of public policy at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, a comprehensive sex education group that also receives federal funding, said the Waxman report underscored the need for closer monitoring of what he called the "shame-based, fear-based, medically inaccurate messages" being disseminated with tax money. He said the danger of abstinence education lies in the omission of useful medical information.Some course materials cited in Waxman's report present as scientific fact notions about a man's need for "admiration" and "sexual fulfillment" compared with a woman's need for "financial support." One book in the "Choosing Best" series tells the story of a knight who married a village maiden instead of the princess because the princess offered so many tips on slaying the local dragon. "Moral of the story," notes the popular text: "Occasional suggestions and assistance may be alright, but too much of it will lessen a man's confidence
Really! no surprize.
These are the same type of people who attack evolution. These are the types who insert intelligent design programs into the public school system, one school board at a time.
Science and facts have no sway with religious fundamentalists. Science is part and parcle of our materialistic world, therefore evil. No doubt about it. If the facts don't fit, oh well. Don't worry about it. Stats lie and everyone knows it. The Greenhouse efffect isn't real, and if it is, again don't worry, Christ will return soon so we don't have to concern ourselves over such scientific mumbo jumbo.
Reasonable people can not reason with unreasonable people. So my goal is not to convince such people they are wrong, but reach out and educate those "agnostics" who vote.
Here is the article:
Report documents misstatements in curricula
Many American youngsters participating in federally funded abstinence-only programs have been taught over the past three years that abortion can lead to sterility and suicide, that half the gay male teenagers in the United States have tested positive for the AIDS virus, and that touching a person's genitals "can result in pregnancy," a congressional staff analysis has found. Those and other assertions are examples of the "false, misleading, or distorted information" in the programs' teaching materials, said the analysis, released yesterday, which reviewed the curricula of more than a dozen projects aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. In providing nearly $170 million next year to fund groups that teach abstinence only, the Bush administration, with backing from the Republican Congress, is investing heavily in a just-say-no strategy for teenagers and sex. But youngsters taking the courses frequently receive medically inaccurate or misleading information, often in direct contradiction to the findings of government scientists, said the report, by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), a critic of the administration who has long argued for comprehensive sex education. Several million children age 9 to 18 have participated in the more than 100 federal abstinence programs since the efforts began in 1999. Waxman's staff reviewed the 13 most commonly used curricula -- those used by at least five programs apiece.The report concluded that two of the curricula were accurate but the 11 others, used by 69 organizations in 25 states, contain unproved claims, subjective conclusions or outright falsehoods regarding reproductive health, gender traits and when life begins. In some cases, Waxman said in an interview, the factual issues were limited to occasional misinterpretations of publicly available data; in others, the materials pervasively presented subjective opinions as scientific fact.Among the misconceptions cited by Waxman's investigators:• A 43-day-old fetus is a "thinking person."• HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can be spread via sweat and tears.• Condoms fail to prevent HIV transmission as often as 31 percent of the time in heterosexual intercourse.One curriculum, called "Me, My World, My Future," teaches that women who have an abortion "are more prone to suicide" and that as many as 10 percent of them become sterile. This contradicts the 2001 edition of a standard obstetrics textbook that says fertility is not affected by elective abortion, the Waxman report said.'Seriously wrong'"I have no objection talking about abstinence as a surefire way to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases," Waxman said. "I don't think we ought to lie to our children about science. Something is seriously wrong when federal tax dollars are being used to mislead kids about basic health facts."When used properly and consistently, condoms fail to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) less than 3 percent of the time, federal researchers say, and it is not known how many gay teenagers are HIV-positive. The assertion regarding gay teenagers may be a misinterpretation of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found that 59 percent of HIV-infected males age 13 to 19 contracted the virus through homosexual relations. Joe. S. McIlhaney Jr., who runs the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, which developed much of the material that was surveyed, said he was "saddened" that Waxman chose to "blast" well-intentioned abstinence educators when there is much the two sides could agree on.McIlhaney acknowledged that his group, which publishes "Sexual Health Today" instruction manuals, made a mistake in describing the relationship between a rare type of infection caused by chlamydia bacteria and heart failure. Chlamydia also causes a common type of sexually transmitted infection, but that is not linked to heart disease. But McIlhaney said Waxman misinterpreted a slide that warns young people about the possibility of pregnancy without intercourse. McIlhaney said the slide accurately describes a real, though small, risk of pregnancy in mutual masturbation.Bush's backingCongress first allocated money for abstinence-only programs in 2001, setting aside $80 million in grants, which go to a variety of religious, civic and medical organizations. To be eligible, groups must limit discussion of contraception to failure rates.President Bush has enthusiastically backed the movement, proposing to spend $270 million on abstinence projects in 2005. Congress reduced that to about $168 million, bringing total abstinence funding to nearly $900 million over five years. It does not appear that the abstinence-only curricula are being taught in the Washington area.Waxman and other liberal sex-education proponents argue that adolescents who take abstinence-only programs are ill-equipped to protect themselves if they become sexually active. According to the latest CDC data, 61 percent of graduating high school seniors have had sex.Supporters of the abstinence approach, also called abstinence until marriage, counter that teaching young people about "safer sex" is an invitation to have sex.Alma Golden, deputy assistant secretary for population affairs in the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that the Waxman report was a political document that did a "disservice to our children." Speaking as a pediatrician, Golden said, she knows "abstaining from sex is the most effective means of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV, STDs and preventing pregnancy."Nonpartisan researchers have been unable to document measurable benefits of the abstinence-only model. Columbia University researchers found that although teenagers who take "virginity pledges" may wait longer to initiate sexual activity, 88 percent eventually have premarital sex.Bill Smith, vice president of public policy at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, a comprehensive sex education group that also receives federal funding, said the Waxman report underscored the need for closer monitoring of what he called the "shame-based, fear-based, medically inaccurate messages" being disseminated with tax money. He said the danger of abstinence education lies in the omission of useful medical information.Some course materials cited in Waxman's report present as scientific fact notions about a man's need for "admiration" and "sexual fulfillment" compared with a woman's need for "financial support." One book in the "Choosing Best" series tells the story of a knight who married a village maiden instead of the princess because the princess offered so many tips on slaying the local dragon. "Moral of the story," notes the popular text: "Occasional suggestions and assistance may be alright, but too much of it will lessen a man's confidence
Colonia LeBaron in the Mexican state of Chihuahua
I wonder how many American Polygamist families are hiding in Mexico?
Smart Case Highlights Utah Polygamy
By PATTY HENETZ SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Despite the Mormon Church's century long effort to rid itself of the stigma of polygamy, high-profile cases like Elizabeth Smart's abduction have cast the church in an unfavorable light by linking it to the outlawed practice.
The Church disavowed polygamy in 1890 and excommunicates members who practice or preach it. But an estimated 30,000 polygamists whose beliefs are rooted in Mormonism live in Utah and other parts of the southwest, Mexico and Canada.
While most of them are consenting adults, living quietly, the region's history is littered with would-be prophets who, abandoning the traditional church, sought to lead their own polygamist groups or cults.
Among them, it appears, is Brian David Mitchell, the self-styled prophet arrested last week in Smart's abduction. An excommunicated Mormon, he wrote a rambling manifesto espousing the virtues of polygamy and may have kidnapped the teen to make her his second wife.
Mitchell's case is just one of several involving avowed polygamists with extremist or fanatical views. Among them:
- In August 2002, polygamist Tom Green was sentenced to five years to life in prison for a child rape that occurred when he took Linda Kunz, a 13-year-old girl, as his "spiritual" wife in 1986 when Green was 37. Green drew the attention of prosecutors when he appeared on a half-dozen nationally televised talk shows to defend his brand of polygamy.
- In 1984, brothers Dan and Ron Lafferty, who had formed a polygamist cult called School of Prophets, killed Ron Lafferty's sister-in-law and her baby because she agreed with Ron Lafferty's wife's decision to leave him.
- In 1979, Summit County, Utah, polygamist John Singer, who pulled his children out of public school, was shot by law enforcement officers for running away when they tried to capture him. His son Addam Swapp, who also became a polygamist, in January 1988 blew up the Marion, Utah, Mormon administrative center. Swapp was wounded after he led his clan in an armed standoff with police and was later sentenced to 15 years in prison.
- In the late 1940s, the excommunicated LeBaron clan established Colonia LeBaron, a polygamist colony in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. In the early 1970s Ervil LeBaron executed rival polygamists in Mexico and Salt Lake County. He died in prison.
Some experts say Mormonism will never be able to shed itself of polygamy - and the sects or cults that arise because of it - because the practice is linked inextricably to the church's founding.
"Polygamy is an albatross the church has been unable to rid itself of," said David Bigler, a former Mormon and historian on the church.
At a conference in October, Gordon Hinckley, the church's image-maker since 1935, issued a powerful reminder that the members' faith depended on the belief that God and Jesus Christ revealed themselves to founder Joseph Smith in 1820 on an upstate New York hillside when he was 14.
"Our whole strength rests on the validity of that vision," said the 92-year-old president.
It was Smith who, in 1843, also disclosed his revelation that polygamy, restored by prophecy from the patriarchal milieu of the Old Testament, was an essential ingredient of eternal exaltation on which the church would stand or fall.
Smith's teachings on polygamy remain in the church's four volumes of scripture. Section 132 says that "if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then he is justified; he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else."
Therein may lie a justification for Mitchell and thousands of so-called fundamentalist Mormons to defy mainstream Mormonism and establish sects where men take multiple wives, some as young as 12.
"They believe in Joseph Smith and polygamy," said Rowenna Erickson, 63, a former plural wife and co-founder of the group Tapestry Against Polygamy. "In order to gain their eternal salvation, they feel they need to live polygamously, because that is one of the higher laws, to get them to the celestial kingdom."
As for Mitchell, his manifesto includes apocalyptic ravings that crib from several books, including the King James Bible, the Book of Mormon and other Joseph Smith writings. The tract typed on a computer is dated April 6, 2002 - the Mormon church's birthday.
Mitchell, once a high local Mormon leader, was excommunicated several years ago for "activity promoting bizarre teachings and lifestyle" far afield of the church. Also excommunicated was Wanda Barzee, arrested along with Mitchell on Wednesday for her alleged complicity in Elizabeth's kidnapping.
Such discipline is not uncommon in the church's struggle with polygamous splinter groups who continue to keep multiple "sister-wives."
Yet the church also teaches that plural marriage will revive when Christ returns. And members are allowed a kind of polygamy in the belief that widowers who marry again may live with both in the afterlife.
Smart Case Highlights Utah Polygamy
By PATTY HENETZ SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Despite the Mormon Church's century long effort to rid itself of the stigma of polygamy, high-profile cases like Elizabeth Smart's abduction have cast the church in an unfavorable light by linking it to the outlawed practice.
The Church disavowed polygamy in 1890 and excommunicates members who practice or preach it. But an estimated 30,000 polygamists whose beliefs are rooted in Mormonism live in Utah and other parts of the southwest, Mexico and Canada.
While most of them are consenting adults, living quietly, the region's history is littered with would-be prophets who, abandoning the traditional church, sought to lead their own polygamist groups or cults.
Among them, it appears, is Brian David Mitchell, the self-styled prophet arrested last week in Smart's abduction. An excommunicated Mormon, he wrote a rambling manifesto espousing the virtues of polygamy and may have kidnapped the teen to make her his second wife.
Mitchell's case is just one of several involving avowed polygamists with extremist or fanatical views. Among them:
- In August 2002, polygamist Tom Green was sentenced to five years to life in prison for a child rape that occurred when he took Linda Kunz, a 13-year-old girl, as his "spiritual" wife in 1986 when Green was 37. Green drew the attention of prosecutors when he appeared on a half-dozen nationally televised talk shows to defend his brand of polygamy.
- In 1984, brothers Dan and Ron Lafferty, who had formed a polygamist cult called School of Prophets, killed Ron Lafferty's sister-in-law and her baby because she agreed with Ron Lafferty's wife's decision to leave him.
- In 1979, Summit County, Utah, polygamist John Singer, who pulled his children out of public school, was shot by law enforcement officers for running away when they tried to capture him. His son Addam Swapp, who also became a polygamist, in January 1988 blew up the Marion, Utah, Mormon administrative center. Swapp was wounded after he led his clan in an armed standoff with police and was later sentenced to 15 years in prison.
- In the late 1940s, the excommunicated LeBaron clan established Colonia LeBaron, a polygamist colony in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. In the early 1970s Ervil LeBaron executed rival polygamists in Mexico and Salt Lake County. He died in prison.
Some experts say Mormonism will never be able to shed itself of polygamy - and the sects or cults that arise because of it - because the practice is linked inextricably to the church's founding.
"Polygamy is an albatross the church has been unable to rid itself of," said David Bigler, a former Mormon and historian on the church.
At a conference in October, Gordon Hinckley, the church's image-maker since 1935, issued a powerful reminder that the members' faith depended on the belief that God and Jesus Christ revealed themselves to founder Joseph Smith in 1820 on an upstate New York hillside when he was 14.
"Our whole strength rests on the validity of that vision," said the 92-year-old president.
It was Smith who, in 1843, also disclosed his revelation that polygamy, restored by prophecy from the patriarchal milieu of the Old Testament, was an essential ingredient of eternal exaltation on which the church would stand or fall.
Smith's teachings on polygamy remain in the church's four volumes of scripture. Section 132 says that "if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then he is justified; he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else."
Therein may lie a justification for Mitchell and thousands of so-called fundamentalist Mormons to defy mainstream Mormonism and establish sects where men take multiple wives, some as young as 12.
"They believe in Joseph Smith and polygamy," said Rowenna Erickson, 63, a former plural wife and co-founder of the group Tapestry Against Polygamy. "In order to gain their eternal salvation, they feel they need to live polygamously, because that is one of the higher laws, to get them to the celestial kingdom."
As for Mitchell, his manifesto includes apocalyptic ravings that crib from several books, including the King James Bible, the Book of Mormon and other Joseph Smith writings. The tract typed on a computer is dated April 6, 2002 - the Mormon church's birthday.
Mitchell, once a high local Mormon leader, was excommunicated several years ago for "activity promoting bizarre teachings and lifestyle" far afield of the church. Also excommunicated was Wanda Barzee, arrested along with Mitchell on Wednesday for her alleged complicity in Elizabeth's kidnapping.
Such discipline is not uncommon in the church's struggle with polygamous splinter groups who continue to keep multiple "sister-wives."
Yet the church also teaches that plural marriage will revive when Christ returns. And members are allowed a kind of polygamy in the belief that widowers who marry again may live with both in the afterlife.
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