Dear Gregor,
What does the Word of God say to do about men, such as these? I know that we are supposed to pray, even for those who persecute us, but there must be something about standing up against men who are trying to remove any reminder of God and his law, from our nation...I even read in 1 John 3:18, that we are not supposed to love in word or tongue; " but in deed and truth". That sounds like taking action in a positive way, in addition to of course always praying, as you mentioned!
I am on distribution of citizenlink, and many other conservative newsletters to keep up with what others are trying to do to fight the workers of evil in this country and world (read 2 Peter 2:1 + 2:19, and you and others can probably find many more predictions of this happening:in God's Word) and help, as we all should take a stand with action, not just word, if I understand the many times God tells us in his Word to "doeth righteousness"...I certainly don't have all the answers and need to spend more time learning and trying to live according to God's Word, at least as an example for my children's sake, and also for our brethren (neighbors) in the world.
Below I read what one Christian is trying to do to stand up against those in leadership positions of our country, that are trying to remove God, and in the very least going against our Constitution, that they swore to uphold! :-(I would be interested in reading what others can find on who is taking a stand and how...
Take care and May God bless you all, in Jesus Christ name,
Shawn
CITIZENLINK
September 5, 2003
DOBSON TAKES FIGHT FOR AMERICA'S MORAL FOUNDATIONS TO
LARRY KING:
Focus on the Family founder appears tonight on CNN to
discuss judicial tyranny.
(Please "CitizenLink News" Section Below)
FEDS TARGET TYPO-DRIVEN PORN OPERATION:
Profitable scheme relied on misspelled Internet domain
names to hook kids.
family.org
SENATE HEARING REVEALS SPLIT OVER MARRIAGE PROTECTION:
Preserving the sanctity of one-man, one-woman matrimony is
a hot topic on Capitol Hill.
family.org
STATEN ISLAND BILLBOARD CONTROVERSY GOES TO COURT:
Pastor paid to have Scripture on billboard, but sign
company removed it after protests.
family.org
NEWS BRIEFS:
Canadians concerned about growing power of judges, poll
says.
(Please See "News Briefs" Section Below)
Encourage a friend to sign up for this e-mail:
family.org
To visit our Web site:
citizenlink.org
To contact your congressman or senators:
family.org
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
EDITOR'S PICKS: Tools for Engaging (and Living in) Your
World
"Restoring Sexual Identity: Hope for Women Who Struggle
with Same-Sex Attraction"
By Anne Paulk
family.org
Are you or someone you know struggling with same-sex
attraction? Is lesbianism an inherited predisposition?
Find answers to these and other critical questions. Women,
their families and their friends who wrestle with this
issue will find practical advice for healing and change
Item Code: BD760
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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CITIZENLINK NEWS:
-----------------------------------------------------
Dobson Takes Fight for America's Moral Foundations to
Larry King
SUMMARY: Focus on the Family founder to appear on CNN to
discuss judicial tyranny and to urge Americans to stand
against it.
Focus on the Family founder and chairman Dr. James Dobson
is scheduled to appear for the full hour of tonight's
"Larry King Live," the latest in a series of media
appearances designed to call attention to a great crisis
facing America today -- the out-of-control federal
judiciary.
"Larry King Live" airs at 9 p.m. EDT on CNN.
"It is because of federal judges who have grabbed powers
not granted them by the Constitution that prayer and
Bible-reading were stripped from the public schools and
that abortion on demand has resulted in the murder of 40
million children," Dobson said. "It was a federal court
that declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional
last year, and a federal judge who ordered the state of
Alabama to remove the Ten Commandments monument from the
state courthouse."
Dobson was in the Alabama capital of Montgomery last week
to speak at a rally for the state's embattled chief
justice, Roy Moore, who refused to comply with a U.S.
District Court order that the monument be removed from the
rotunda of the state judicial center. Moore's defiance
prompted two weeks of rallies on his behalf -- and calls
from Christian leaders like Dobson that the monument
controversy is merely a symptom of a much more lethal
disease.
Dobson's "Larry King Live" appearance marks the third time
in 10 days that he has carried the message to cable
television audiences. He appeared Aug. 27 on Fox News
Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" and Sunday on "Weekend Live
with Tony Snow," also on FNC.
"These judges won't be happy until every vestige of faith
in God is whitewashed from the public square," Dobson
explained. "The time has come for Americans to stand up
and say, 'We're not going to let that happen.' This
country was founded on moral, biblical truths, and those
foundations must be restored. The future of our nation
depends on it."
The ongoing battle for marriage -- preserving its
traditional definition as the union of one man and one
woman -- is another example of how judicial tyranny
undermines the values upon which the United States was
established, Dobson added. The U.S. Supreme Court's recent
ruling declaring a constitutional right to sodomy, many
legal analysts say, puts America one giant step closer to
the legalization of homosexual "marriage."
"We only have to look at the devastation no-fault divorce
has wrought on families and children to see what happens
when we deviate from God's design for marriage," Dobson
said. "The courts must not be allowed to chip away even
further at those foundations. It's time to start moving in
the other direction, toward restoring those foundations."
TAKE ACTION: To ask Dr. Dobson a question during tonight's
broadcast of "Larry King Live" call the show's toll-free
comment line, (800) 676-2100, between 9 and 10 p.m. EDT.
-----------------------------------------------------
FAMILY NEWS IN FOCUS STORIES:
-----------------------------------------------------
Feds Target Typo-Driven Porn Operation
By Terry Phillips, correspondent
SUMMARY: The government has stopped a profitable Internet
scheme that relied on misspelled words in domain names to
take kids to the slimiest corners of the Web.
In what will be the first prosecution under a little-known
section of the Amber Alert law, a man accused of operating
a million-dollar Internet porn scam has been arrested in
Florida. Authorities say the operation depended on poor
spelling and typos -- to hook kids.
What John Zuccarini allegedly did was register thousands
of Web site names that were close to the proper spelling
of popular children's sites. If a child wanted to visit
"Teletubbies.com," for instance, but left out a letter --
up popped a porn site.
Daniel Weiss, media and sexuality analyst at Focus of the
Family, is pleased to see the prosecution.
"What this says is the attorney general is taking
seriously the new provisions of this law," Weiss said.
Still, it is the first case brought by the government
since Amber Alert regulations went into effect in April.
While the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said such cases
are a priority, Weiss isn't so sure.
"The proof is in the pudding," he explained. "We just have
not seen them take an aggressive approach to these
matters. In fact, they just announced about a month ago
the first major obscenity indictment in more than a
decade."
Former Justice Department official Patrick Trueman said
the DOJ could prosecute under statutes older than the
Amber Alert legislation, with tougher penalties.
"What the Justice Department should do in future cases is
try to add obscenity charges, because the likelihood of
jail time is much greater," Trueman said.
Overall, however, both Weiss -- who called it "a good
start" -- and Trueman -- who sees it as "the start of
something bigger" -- applauded Zuccarini's arrest.
In the meantime, parents should be aware of thousands of
sites designed to trap and take the kids to places on the
Web that they should not go.
Experts in the fight against Internet porn warn that you
cannot rely solely on filtering software to keep the worst
of the Web from your home computers, especially when the
kids are online. The best strategy, they say, is to keep
the computer in a family area where you can check on
what's coming in.
TAKE ACTION: Computer pornography is a major problem. It
is especially offensive when it is sent to your computer
by unsolicited e-mail -- or "spam." To counter this aspect
of the problem, Focus on the Family, in connection with
David Burt of the filtering company N2H2, have created the
"Obscenity Link Filter" -- a way for you to forward
unsolicited pornographic e-mail ("porn spam") to
authorities, without having to download or view
pornographic images.
family.org
-----------------------------------------------
Senate Hearing Reveals Split Over Marriage Protection
By Stuart Shepard, correspondent
SUMMARY: The need to preserve the sanctity of one-man,
one-woman matrimony was a hot topic on Capitol Hill on
Thursday.
A Senate subcommittee took up the issue of protecting
traditional marriage Thursday during a hearing that
revealed a distinct divide between the political parties.
Senators discussed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and
the need for a federal marriage amendment.
Democrats like Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., argued that
marriage was not even an appropriate topic for legislative
consideration.
"I do not believe that Congress should spend time on an
issue that should be left to the states and religious
institutions," Feingold said.
Feingold also made clear his opposition to the Federal
Marriage Amendment, which would codify the legal
definition of marriage as the union of one man and one
woman, as he acknowledged homosexuals in the audience:
"The amendment proposed in the House would prevent states
from choosing to give them and other individuals in
same-sex committed relationships the same legal
recognition that married couples enjoy."
Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the
Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights
subcommittee, countered that argument, pointing out
marriage is already a federal issue.
"My contention would be that the Congress has already
crossed over that bridge in passing the Defense of
Marriage Act," Cornyn said. "So the question is whether
that law ought to be sustained or not."
Pastor Ray Hammond told senators marriage is more than
just government benefits.
"More than ever, marriage must be seen as an institution
that goes beyond the contractual giving of rights and even
beyond the emotional celebration of the love of two people
for each other," Hammond said.
Patrick Henry College President Michael Farris said when
Democrats say it's a "state" issue, they mean that it
should be up to judges (and courts) to decide.
"That's exactly the problem, leaving the issue to the
courts," Farris said. "The courts are robbing the American
people of their fundamental right of self government."
He said the Founding Fathers defined tyranny as "unelected
officials making law."
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Focus on the Family has produced a
number of materials which document the assault on
traditional marriage -- and what needs to be done to
protect the venerable institution. Find some of them at
CitizenLink's Protect Marriage Action Center.
family.org
------------------------------------------------
Staten Island Billboard Controversy Goes to Court
By Terry Phillips, correspondent
SUMMARY: Pastor paid to have Scripture on billboard, but
sign company removed it after protests.
The Rev. Khristopher Okwedy paid $2,500 in 2000 to have
billboards with biblical messages put up in New York
City's Staten Island. They were soon labeled "hateful" by
the homosexual community.
One billboard message was, "Thou shalt not lie with
mankind as with womankind. It is (an) abomination" -- a
clear rebuke to homosexuals from Leviticus 18:22.
"The ensuing events just went on to confirm to me that the
Lord had his hand in the whole process, you know?" Okwedy
said.
During the few days the message was there, it generated
media coverage and a letter to the billboard company from
a government official, Guy Molinari. Mike DePrimo, an
attorney for Okwedy, paraphrased the letter this way: "
'As the president of the borough of Staten Island, I want
to inform you that this is a message of intolerance.' "
The billboards came down almost as fast as they went up,
and DePrimo and Okwedy went to court.
"The key issue in this case," DePrimo said, "is whether
government is permitted to use a private individual or
entity to censor a message it disagrees with."
Round one went to PNE Media, the billboard company, and to
Molinari, but an appeal has opened the case again. The
stakes are reasonably high.
"(Molinari) could be found liable for violating Okwedy's
constitutional rights," DePrimo said. "PNE could also be
found for violating Okwedy's civil rights, and as well,
they could be liable for breach of contract."
DePrimo said the case will decide if religious people have
a right to free speech, even if some don't like what they
read.
-----------------------------------------------------
NEWS BRIEFS:
-----------------------------------------------------
Canadians Think Judges Have Too Much Power
A recent poll on the question of same-sex marriage finds
Canadians roughly split down the middle between opposition
and support, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC)
reported today. Fifty-eight percent of Canadians reject a
proposal made by some members of Parliament to make
marriage solely a matter for churches to oversee.
More importantly, however, pollster Richard Jenkins said
there is a strong feeling among Canadians that courts and
judges wield too much power.
"Canadians certainly feel uncomfortable about the degree
to which the courts are imposing a view of society upon
them," Jenkins told the CBC.
Stephen Harper, leader of the Canadian Alliance -- a
pro-family conservative political party in Canada, said
his party has heard that same point from Canadians. He
also said the polls consistently show strong support for
retaining the definition of marriage as the exclusive
union of a man and a woman.
That support, he suggested, goes beyond social
conservatives.
"I think there's a lot of issues at play here and that's
why opposition to what the government is doing is a lot
wider spread than the government thought," Harper said.
The Alliance leader claims the federal government actually
orchestrated recent court losses in Ontario and British
Columbia as a way to legalize same-sex marriage. Harper
says Ottawa feigned the legal battle against same-sex
marriage for years while stacking the courts with
liberal-minded judges and plotting to redefine marriage.
Harper says the Canadian Alliance will force a vote on
same-sex marriage similar to one that was held in the
House of Commons four years ago.
At that time, Parliament voted 216-55 in support of a
nonbinding motion to keep the traditional definition of
marriage.
--------------------------------------------------------
UNFPA Looks for Religious 'Support'
Ever since President Bush zeroed out U.S. funding for the
United Nation's Population Fund (UNFPA) because of its
involvement in China's "one-child" policy, pro-abortion
friends of the fund have done all they can to get the
money restored.
According to Population Research Institute President Steve
Mosher, a group claiming to be composed of religious
leaders is traveling to China to report on UNFPA
operations. All members of the group are pro-abortion,
Mosher said, and all oppose the Kemp-Kasten Amendment --
which bars federal funding to any organization or program
which "supports or participates in the management of a
program of coercive abortion or involuntary
sterilization."
Mosher said one of the members is on record as supporting
coercion. None are from mainstream religious groups.
Still, the goal, he said, is to make it appear that UNFPA
has religious backing.
"(They are trying) to restore the U.S. contribution to the
UNFPA," Mosher said, "despite UNFPA's support of forced
abortion in China."
CE03ICZL
===================
Gary Schneeberger
Editor
Pete Winn
Associate Editor
Trish Amason
Editorial Coordinator
Peter Brandt
Director, Issues Response
Tom Minnery
Vice President, Public Policy
Don Hodel
President and CEO, Focus on the Family
Dr. James C. Dobson
Founder and Chairman, Focus on the Family
---------------------------------
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