Pete Chagnon - OneNewsNow -
Does the NEA support same-sex marriage?
In early July, OneNewsNow was contacted by the Conservative Educators Caucus, an organization within the National Education Association (NEA) made up of conservative teachers. They claimed that the NEA threw their full support behind the homosexual marriage during their annual meeting in California. Concerned teachers within the NEA contacted their local officials, who denied any such support. However, Jeralee Smith of the Conservative Educators Caucus says those officials are playing "liberal word games." She directs concerned teachers to the NEA's website, which has posted the resolution.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=661894
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Calling all monogamous men
Carolyn Moynihan
Family scholar Patrick Fagan has come up with an elegant schema contrasting “monogamous” culture with other kinds of sexual culture which he calls, collectively, “polyamorous”. Speaking at the World Congress of Families recently in Amsterdam, he highlighted the gulf that exists between the two cultures in terms of values and practical consequences. And he proposed a solution.
Fagan, who is with the Family Research Council, argued that these cultures can only co-exist in once society if parents in both are given control over the programs that cause conflict: education, adolescent health and sex education.
http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/calling_all_monogamous_men/
Family scholar Patrick Fagan has come up with an elegant schema contrasting “monogamous” culture with other kinds of sexual culture which he calls, collectively, “polyamorous”. Speaking at the World Congress of Families recently in Amsterdam, he highlighted the gulf that exists between the two cultures in terms of values and practical consequences. And he proposed a solution.
Fagan, who is with the Family Research Council, argued that these cultures can only co-exist in once society if parents in both are given control over the programs that cause conflict: education, adolescent health and sex education.
http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/calling_all_monogamous_men/
The UN’s sex-ed plan for kids
Carolyn Moynihan
Some years ago I saw a cartoon whose subject becomes more real by the day. It showed a Brave-New-Wold nursery in which newborns were being instructed via a loudspeaker: “Today you will be going home, but before you go, here is your first sex education lesson...” I was reminded of it by a Fox News report of a new universal sex-ed curriculum from UNESCO.
The UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation has decided that, “in a world affected by HIV and AIDS”, it is “imperative” to teach children as young as 5 about masturbation as well as “gender roles, stereotypes and gender-based violence”.
http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/the_uns_sex-ed_plan_for_kids/
Some years ago I saw a cartoon whose subject becomes more real by the day. It showed a Brave-New-Wold nursery in which newborns were being instructed via a loudspeaker: “Today you will be going home, but before you go, here is your first sex education lesson...” I was reminded of it by a Fox News report of a new universal sex-ed curriculum from UNESCO.
The UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation has decided that, “in a world affected by HIV and AIDS”, it is “imperative” to teach children as young as 5 about masturbation as well as “gender roles, stereotypes and gender-based violence”.
http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/the_uns_sex-ed_plan_for_kids/
Lesbian custody trial continues
Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow -
A court custody battle continues between a born-again Christian mother in Virginia and her former lesbian partner in Vermont.
Lisa Miller's daughter Isabella is now seven-and-a-half years old. Miller ended her lesbian relationship with Janet Jenkins and set up residence in Virginia when Isabella was an infant. Miller is now a Christian, while Jenkins is still a practicing lesbian.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=660402
A court custody battle continues between a born-again Christian mother in Virginia and her former lesbian partner in Vermont.
Lisa Miller's daughter Isabella is now seven-and-a-half years old. Miller ended her lesbian relationship with Janet Jenkins and set up residence in Virginia when Isabella was an infant. Miller is now a Christian, while Jenkins is still a practicing lesbian.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=660402
Conservatism reigns in Croatia
Pete Chagnon - OneNewsNow -
Abstinence education is celebrating a legal victory in Croatia.
Roger Kiska of the Alliance Defense Fund says the case was particularly dangerous because it involved a charter body of the Council of Europe. That body polices compliance with the European Social Charter -- a binding human-rights document on all states within the Council of Europe.
The case involved a lawsuit against the Christian nation of Croatia, which Kiska says has a low rate of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The suit alleged that the country was not teaching appropriate sexual education in their schools because they focused on abstinence.
"So the potential of this case was to completely liberalize sexual education throughout Europe," he explains. "And thankfully the committee agreed with our arguments, agreed with the arguments of Croatia, that because of the cultural sovereignty of Croatia, because of the low prevalence of sexual transmitted diseases and teen pregnancies, obviously the program was working" the attorney notes.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=660524
Abstinence education is celebrating a legal victory in Croatia.
Roger Kiska of the Alliance Defense Fund says the case was particularly dangerous because it involved a charter body of the Council of Europe. That body polices compliance with the European Social Charter -- a binding human-rights document on all states within the Council of Europe.
The case involved a lawsuit against the Christian nation of Croatia, which Kiska says has a low rate of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The suit alleged that the country was not teaching appropriate sexual education in their schools because they focused on abstinence.
"So the potential of this case was to completely liberalize sexual education throughout Europe," he explains. "And thankfully the committee agreed with our arguments, agreed with the arguments of Croatia, that because of the cultural sovereignty of Croatia, because of the low prevalence of sexual transmitted diseases and teen pregnancies, obviously the program was working" the attorney notes.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=660524
Abortion, breast cancer link confirmed again
Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow -
Another study confirms a link between abortion and breast cancer.
The latest research was done in Turkey and is widely available on the Internet, according to Karen Malec of the Coalition on Abortion-Breast Cancer. "This study found that...Turkish women who have abortions...have a statistically significant 66-percent increase in breast cancer risk," she notes.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=657946
Another study confirms a link between abortion and breast cancer.
The latest research was done in Turkey and is widely available on the Internet, according to Karen Malec of the Coalition on Abortion-Breast Cancer. "This study found that...Turkish women who have abortions...have a statistically significant 66-percent increase in breast cancer risk," she notes.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=657946
Abstinence, yes, but what about marriage?
Carolyn Moynihan
The abstinence-until-marriage movement in the United States has been a positive and courageous response to the sexual revolution. As the basis for sex education it has met with determined opposition because of adult scepticism, and probably dislike of the very idea of abstinence. Now a sociologist who is also an Evangelical Christian is suggesting another reason for reviewing the way Christians promote abstinence.
…[A]fter years of studying the sexual behavior and family decision-making of young Americans, I've come to the conclusion that Christians have made much ado about sex but are becoming slow and lax about marriage—that more significant, enduring witness to Christ's sacrificial love for his bride. Americans are taking flight from marriage. We are marrying later, if at all, and having fewer children.
http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/abstinence_yes_but_what_about_marriage/
The abstinence-until-marriage movement in the United States has been a positive and courageous response to the sexual revolution. As the basis for sex education it has met with determined opposition because of adult scepticism, and probably dislike of the very idea of abstinence. Now a sociologist who is also an Evangelical Christian is suggesting another reason for reviewing the way Christians promote abstinence.
…[A]fter years of studying the sexual behavior and family decision-making of young Americans, I've come to the conclusion that Christians have made much ado about sex but are becoming slow and lax about marriage—that more significant, enduring witness to Christ's sacrificial love for his bride. Americans are taking flight from marriage. We are marrying later, if at all, and having fewer children.
http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/abstinence_yes_but_what_about_marriage/
New Hampshire Court orders Christian homeschooled girl to attend public school
Pete Chagnon - OneNewsNow
A Christian homeschool girl in New Hampshire has been ordered into government-run public school for having "sincerely held" religious beliefs -- and the Alliance Defense Fund is troubled by the ruling.
The case involves divorced couple Martin Kurowski and Brenda Voydatch and their 10-year-old daughter, Amanda. The couple split in 1999 when they were living in Massachusetts, and the proceedings moved to New Hampshire after Voydatch relocated to that state with her daughter in 2002.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=659638
A Christian homeschool girl in New Hampshire has been ordered into government-run public school for having "sincerely held" religious beliefs -- and the Alliance Defense Fund is troubled by the ruling.
The case involves divorced couple Martin Kurowski and Brenda Voydatch and their 10-year-old daughter, Amanda. The couple split in 1999 when they were living in Massachusetts, and the proceedings moved to New Hampshire after Voydatch relocated to that state with her daughter in 2002.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=659638
DC court ruling affects ex-'gays'
Pete Chagnon - OneNewsNow -
A landmark court decision in Washington, DC, could have far-reaching ramifications for those who have left the homosexual lifestyle.
Regina Griggs, executive director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, tells OneNewsNow that former homosexuals now have protection under sexual orientation non-discrimination laws. According to the ruling [PDF], handed down by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, ex-"gays" are now a protected class that must be recognized under the DC Human Rights Act.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=659000
A landmark court decision in Washington, DC, could have far-reaching ramifications for those who have left the homosexual lifestyle.
Regina Griggs, executive director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, tells OneNewsNow that former homosexuals now have protection under sexual orientation non-discrimination laws. According to the ruling [PDF], handed down by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, ex-"gays" are now a protected class that must be recognized under the DC Human Rights Act.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=659000
Abortion 'explicitly' covered under ObamaCare
Pete Chagnon - OneNewsNow -
FactCheck.org says the National Right to Life Committee is correct concerning abortion provisions in ObamaCare.
According to FactCheck.org, President Barack Obama was right to a "limited extent" when he stated that his healthcare reform plan does not allow for "government-funded abortion." Although FactCheck.org states that under H.R. 3200 federal money is not used to fund abortion, under the public insurance option there is a provision for abortion coverage -- as well as provisions for government-subsidized public and private insurance plans that cover what are described as "reproductive services."
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=657860
FactCheck.org says the National Right to Life Committee is correct concerning abortion provisions in ObamaCare.
According to FactCheck.org, President Barack Obama was right to a "limited extent" when he stated that his healthcare reform plan does not allow for "government-funded abortion." Although FactCheck.org states that under H.R. 3200 federal money is not used to fund abortion, under the public insurance option there is a provision for abortion coverage -- as well as provisions for government-subsidized public and private insurance plans that cover what are described as "reproductive services."
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=657860
My Sister’s Keeper
Jennifer Roback Morse
The screen version of Jodi Picoult's novel poses the question: how much are we entitled to use each other?
The use and misuse of artificial reproductive technology (ART) is a subject that deserves more attention than it commonly gets. My Sister’s Keeper is a thought-provoking dramatization of one of the most troubling ethical issues of the ART industry: the creation of “savior siblings”.
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/my_sisters_keeper/
The screen version of Jodi Picoult's novel poses the question: how much are we entitled to use each other?
The use and misuse of artificial reproductive technology (ART) is a subject that deserves more attention than it commonly gets. My Sister’s Keeper is a thought-provoking dramatization of one of the most troubling ethical issues of the ART industry: the creation of “savior siblings”.
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/my_sisters_keeper/
In defence of moral absolutes
Richard Bastien
Forget the modern orthodoxy, there are real moral absolutes worth defending.
Throughout the 19th century, theories abounded in the English-speaking world about the relativism of human knowledge and, therefore, the difficulty in establishing moral standards. John Stuart Mill, notably, reduced the idea of morality to a form of subjective ideal. In the early 20th century, Einstein’s theory of relativity, for all the wrong reasons, gave a semblance of justification to the idea that there were no such things as absolutes. This led to an increasing acceptance of the notion that all cultures and moral ideas are conditional and that none can pretend to be any “better” than any other.
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/in_defence_of_moral_absolutes2/
Forget the modern orthodoxy, there are real moral absolutes worth defending.
Throughout the 19th century, theories abounded in the English-speaking world about the relativism of human knowledge and, therefore, the difficulty in establishing moral standards. John Stuart Mill, notably, reduced the idea of morality to a form of subjective ideal. In the early 20th century, Einstein’s theory of relativity, for all the wrong reasons, gave a semblance of justification to the idea that there were no such things as absolutes. This led to an increasing acceptance of the notion that all cultures and moral ideas are conditional and that none can pretend to be any “better” than any other.
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/in_defence_of_moral_absolutes2/
All shall be poor
Barbara Kay
How today’s sexual narcissists insist on propagating their dreary values.
A hot new must-read book making the rounds is Frenchwoman Corinne Maier's No Kids: Forty Good Reasons Not To Have Children. Having read her embarrassingly superficial Maclean's interview and perused the jejune list of what constitutes "reasons" for Maier --kids cut into your "fun," kids are "conformists" --I'll pass on actually reading the book. Yet, because it would seem there was both money and celebrity to be gleaned from time Maier might otherwise have idly frittered away in an afternoon nap, I'm tempted to give the idea a whirl myself.
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/all_shall_be_poor/
How today’s sexual narcissists insist on propagating their dreary values.
A hot new must-read book making the rounds is Frenchwoman Corinne Maier's No Kids: Forty Good Reasons Not To Have Children. Having read her embarrassingly superficial Maclean's interview and perused the jejune list of what constitutes "reasons" for Maier --kids cut into your "fun," kids are "conformists" --I'll pass on actually reading the book. Yet, because it would seem there was both money and celebrity to be gleaned from time Maier might otherwise have idly frittered away in an afternoon nap, I'm tempted to give the idea a whirl myself.
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/all_shall_be_poor/
Opposing Gay Unions With Sanity & a Smile
By Monica Hesse
The nightmares of gay marriage supporters are the Pat Robertsons of the world. The James Dobsons, the John Hagees -- the people who specialize in whipping crowds into frothy frenzies, who say things like Katrina was caused by the gays.
The gay marriage supporters have not met Brian Brown. They should. He might be more worth knowing about.
Brown is the executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, the preeminent organization dedicated to preventing the legalization of same-sex marriage. For two years, Brown has been traveling across the country. He moved his wife and six kids to California, where NOM was instrumental in passing Proposition 8, the state constitutional amendment defining marriage as an institution only between a man and a woman. Before that, Connecticut, where his cause was hurt when the state Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/27/AR2009082704139.html
The nightmares of gay marriage supporters are the Pat Robertsons of the world. The James Dobsons, the John Hagees -- the people who specialize in whipping crowds into frothy frenzies, who say things like Katrina was caused by the gays.
The gay marriage supporters have not met Brian Brown. They should. He might be more worth knowing about.
Brown is the executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, the preeminent organization dedicated to preventing the legalization of same-sex marriage. For two years, Brown has been traveling across the country. He moved his wife and six kids to California, where NOM was instrumental in passing Proposition 8, the state constitutional amendment defining marriage as an institution only between a man and a woman. Before that, Connecticut, where his cause was hurt when the state Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/27/AR2009082704139.html
Friday, August 28, 2009
Court Rules That ‘Sexual Orientation’ Laws Include Former Homosexuals
Washington, D.C. – In a precedent setting case, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia has ruled that former homosexuals are a protected class that must be recognized under sexual orientation non-discrimination laws. The Court held that, under the D.C. Human Rights Act, sexual orientation does not require immutable characteristics.
“We are gratified that the ex-gay community in Washington D.C. now has the same civil rights that gays enjoy,” said Regina Griggs, executive director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX), which had filed the lawsuit against the District of Columbia government for failing to protect former homosexuals in the Nation’s Capital.
http://pfox.org/Court-Rules-Sexual-Orientation-Laws-Include-Former-Homosexuals.html
“We are gratified that the ex-gay community in Washington D.C. now has the same civil rights that gays enjoy,” said Regina Griggs, executive director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX), which had filed the lawsuit against the District of Columbia government for failing to protect former homosexuals in the Nation’s Capital.
http://pfox.org/Court-Rules-Sexual-Orientation-Laws-Include-Former-Homosexuals.html
U.N. Agency Calls for Teaching Children 5-to-8 Years of Age about Masturbation
By Christopher Neefus
(CNSNews.com) – A June report from the United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) suggests children of all countries and cultures are entitled to sexual and reproductive education beginning at age five. The report, called International Guidelines on Sexual Education, was released in June in conjunction with the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), an organization which works for universal access to “reproductive health care.”
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=52988
(CNSNews.com) – A June report from the United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) suggests children of all countries and cultures are entitled to sexual and reproductive education beginning at age five. The report, called International Guidelines on Sexual Education, was released in June in conjunction with the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), an organization which works for universal access to “reproductive health care.”
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=52988
ACLU’s Request to Jail Lisa Miller Fails in Virginia Court
Winchester, VA – Earlier today, Liberty Counsel appeared in court to defend Lisa Miller from a complaint filed by the ACLU of Virginia on behalf of Janet Jenkins. The ACLU asked the judge to order Lisa to jail for not delivering her own daughter, Isabella, to Vermont for unsupervised visitation with Janet. The ACLU also requested Lisa to pay attorneys fees and costs. No jail time was ordered and the court rejected the ACLU’s request for money.
Although the court ruled that Lisa had violated a Vermont judge’s visitation order, no fines were assessed against her. The court ordered that Lisa pay $100 per day for pending visitation orders issued in Vermont, but there are no pending visitation orders at this time. The ACLU vigorously argued against Liberty Counsel’s requested change of venue to Bedford County, where Lisa lives and Isabella attends school. However, the court ruled that future disputes in this case will be heard in Bedford County.
http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14100&PRID=846
Although the court ruled that Lisa had violated a Vermont judge’s visitation order, no fines were assessed against her. The court ordered that Lisa pay $100 per day for pending visitation orders issued in Vermont, but there are no pending visitation orders at this time. The ACLU vigorously argued against Liberty Counsel’s requested change of venue to Bedford County, where Lisa lives and Isabella attends school. However, the court ruled that future disputes in this case will be heard in Bedford County.
http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14100&PRID=846
What the Experts Are Saying Now
The most recent research in child development. Among the findings: 4-year-olds lie once an hour.
By KAY HYMOWITZ
For more than a century American parents—ever more distanced from grandmothers and suspicious of tradition—have looked to social science to explain their children to them. Thus they have gobbled up books and articles by experts who periodically deliver the latest truths about child-rearing. Back in 1945, when Dr. Spock published his "Baby and Child Care," readers' devotion to expert opinion was so intense that he began his book with the reassuring words: "Trust yourself." Not that he believed it. The book was jammed with advice.
Now, in "NurtureShock," Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman survey the newest new findings about child development. Little in the book is all that shocking, but given our enthusiasm for turning tentative child research into settled policy, the studies that the authors discuss are of more than passing interest.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203706604574371422231600220.html
By KAY HYMOWITZ
For more than a century American parents—ever more distanced from grandmothers and suspicious of tradition—have looked to social science to explain their children to them. Thus they have gobbled up books and articles by experts who periodically deliver the latest truths about child-rearing. Back in 1945, when Dr. Spock published his "Baby and Child Care," readers' devotion to expert opinion was so intense that he began his book with the reassuring words: "Trust yourself." Not that he believed it. The book was jammed with advice.
Now, in "NurtureShock," Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman survey the newest new findings about child development. Little in the book is all that shocking, but given our enthusiasm for turning tentative child research into settled policy, the studies that the authors discuss are of more than passing interest.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203706604574371422231600220.html
Fathers aren't dispensable just yet
This story is a fascinating “take” on the differences between mothers and fathers, and possibly relevant to the debate over same sex parenting….
by Linda Geddes
YOU may be tempted to think men are becoming an optional extra in the mating game, but biochemical evidence in mice and people suggests that fathers may play a key role in the rearing of offspring. Previous studies have hinted at the importance of fathers in child-rearing. Some have shown that girls reach puberty younger, become sexually active earlier and are more likely to get pregnant in their teens if their father was absent when they were young. Others have suggested that the sons of absent fathers display lower intimacy and self-esteem.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327184.000-fathers-arent-dispensable-just-yet.html
by Linda Geddes
YOU may be tempted to think men are becoming an optional extra in the mating game, but biochemical evidence in mice and people suggests that fathers may play a key role in the rearing of offspring. Previous studies have hinted at the importance of fathers in child-rearing. Some have shown that girls reach puberty younger, become sexually active earlier and are more likely to get pregnant in their teens if their father was absent when they were young. Others have suggested that the sons of absent fathers display lower intimacy and self-esteem.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327184.000-fathers-arent-dispensable-just-yet.html
Art galleries that don’t respect children
Carolyn Moynihan
Is it safe to take your children to an art gallery these days? A writer complains in the New York Times about taking his twin boys, aged 7, to one of his favourite galleries and running into an exhibition with “graphic images”. The name, “And/Or”, provided no clue to the genitalia displayed; the warning sign at the entrance was in very small print.
http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/art_galleries_that_dont_respect_children/
Is it safe to take your children to an art gallery these days? A writer complains in the New York Times about taking his twin boys, aged 7, to one of his favourite galleries and running into an exhibition with “graphic images”. The name, “And/Or”, provided no clue to the genitalia displayed; the warning sign at the entrance was in very small print.
http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/art_galleries_that_dont_respect_children/
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