National News - November 2005

 ...The trial is set to begin for a Massachusetts dad who objected to his six-year-old son being subjected to pro-homosexual material at school without parental knowledge. All David Parker wanted was for the school to abide by state law and inform him when such material was to be discussed in his son's presence. But when school officials refused to do that in late April -- and Parker refused to leave the school until he was assured the law would be adhered to -- they had him arrested. The Lexington father was subsequently handcuffed and jailed overnight. In addition, the superintendent of the local school system banned Parker from all school property. An earlier hearing on Parker's plea bargain that the ban be lifted was postponed last month to allow Superintendent Paul Ash time to reconsider the ban -- but as late as last week, Ash's attorneys indicated he had no intention of changing his stance. And following the September postponement, Ash reportedly instructed all of his teachers not to notify parents when the topic of homosexual relationships was to be discussed with schoolchildren. According to the Massachusetts group Article 8 Alliance, was scheduled to appear on ABC World News Tonight Wednesday, Oct. 19th.

...Two Christian organizations -- one a legal firm, the other an educators' group -- have decided to join forces in an annual campaign to educate schools about the legality of celebrating Christmas in public schools and on public property. For the past three years, Liberty Counsel has conducted its "Friend or Foe" Christmas campaign, offering pro bono legal advice and defending government entities that do not censor Christmas, but also filing suit whenever observance of Jesus' birth is censored. This year, the Christian Educators Association International has come alongside Liberty Counsel, and will distribute the legal group's memo about Christmas to school and government officials -- and report any violations of the law to Liberty Counsel for follow-up. According to a press release, the religious viewpoints of students, teachers, and public employees have been discriminated against on numerous occasions, from the distribution of Christmas cards and candy canes, to singing carols, to displaying Nativity scenes, to wearing of red and green, and even to addressing others with a traditional "Merry Christmas." CEAI's Finn Laursen says his group's teachers and administrators will do their part to ensure that the "reason for the season" remains part of the holiday celebration. And Liberty Council president Mat Staver says his cadre of religious liberty attorneys intends to "stop the Grinch from stealing Christmas." And in explaining the name of the campaign, Staver says "we will be the friend of government officials who do the right thing, and the foe of those who don't."

...A church in Kentucky has figured out how to take effective action against an adult store in its neighborhood. The Red House Baptist Church in Richmond has purchased a sign that sits directly above a billboard for an outlet of the "Hustler Hollywood" chain of adult stores. Pastor Adam Dooley tells Associated Press the billboard was put up by the store in the vicinity of his church and an elementary school one year ago. He and his congregation gave it some prayer and consideration. "We decided that rather than do nothing, we would put up a billboard sign that reads 'Don't get hustled -- Give your life to Jesus,'" the pastor explains. Dooley says thus far the response has been very positive from the residents of Richmond -- and the Red House Baptist congregation, he says, is pleased that it is making a statement opposing an immoral message without any legal battles to take attention away from their competing message. "We wanted to say to the community that there's a positive alternative to pornography," Dooley says. "The sign does speak for itself and makes it very clear what we're trying to say." The church plans to keep their sign above the Hustler Hollywood billboard for as long as it is displayed.

...A nationwide group of Christian medical practitioners is calling for a fair and open consideration of the scientific merits of the intelligent design theory. The organization says a "small but powerful scientific elite" has launched a "scientific inquisition" against any scientist to dares to break ranks to consider the claims of intelligent design. "It's hard to reconcile the scientific principles of freedom of exploration, testing hypotheses, and evaluating evidence with the tyrannical rhetoric coming from scientific elites who want to squelch the teaching" of ID alongside the theory of evolution, says Dr. David Stevens, executive director of the Christian Medical Association. And in addition to persecuting any scientist who dares to consider the scientific merits of ID, the "ruling elite [in the scientific community] would also excommunicate any scientist who sees God behind that design," adds Stevens. Dr. Gene Rudd, Stevens' associate director at CMA, points out that statistics indicate that physicians who treat patients do not labor under a false dichotomy of faith and science. Rudd says according to a survey of more than a thousand doctors across the U.S., more than three-fourths of them believe in God, 59 percent in some sort of afterlife; and 55 percent say their religious beliefs influence how they practice medicine.

...A pro-life attorney says an Arkansas woman has discovered that when people try to challenge "Choose Life" license plates, they lose. Abortion proponent Tamara Brackett has dismissed her federal lawsuit which sought to strike down Arkansas's "Choose Life" specialty plate, along with the entire system of authorizing specialty and vanity plates in the state. Eric Stanley with Liberty Counsel says he is very pleased the suit was dismissed. "Several organizations had intervened in the lawsuit to protect their specialty license plate -- colleges, universities, the Fish and Game Commission -- and we intervened on behalf of pregnancy centers and individuals who had the Choose Life license plates and would receive funds from them," the attorney explains. "Thankfully she dismissed that lawsuit because there's been precedent around the country that has established that these types of cases are losers -- and I believe that she found that out." Stanley says abortion advocates have no shame when it comes to their efforts to silence anything that contains a message that supports life rather than death.

...Some advocates of immigration reform hope Senator Bill Frist is being sincere in his claim that he plans to make border security a major priority. Phil Kent of the American Immigration Control Foundation says the illegal immigration problem has reached the boiling point. "You have two Democratic governors just recently declaring states of emergency in Arizona and New Mexico because of the problem is so serious," Kent offers. Minuteman Project spokesman Chris Simcox recently spent time on Capitol Hill, where he says he "encouraged the president and Congress ... to do whatever it take to secure our borders." Commentator Tony Blankley agrees, but says more action is needed. "I believe -- much as I hate it -- that we need national biometric ID cards," he says. According to Blankley, 40 percent of illegals entered the country legally -- but after their visas expired, they melted into the society. Frist says border security and internal enforcement will be the main agenda in next year's election.

...A national defense expert and Pentagon advisor says it is a sign of the times that there are liberal judges in the country who are willing to allow terrorist suspects to sue the federal government for their confinement. Recently U.S. District Judge John Gleeson rejected an attempt by former Attorney General John Ashcroft to block a lawsuit filed by two Muslim men who were detained following 9-11 and later deported. According to the New York Times, the two men claimed they were abused at a federal detention center in Brooklyn where Muslim and Arab men were held. Retired Army Lt. Colonel Bob Maginnis says they are taking advantage of America's legal system. "The reality is our court system is open," Maginnis says, "and if you have a claim against an American and you follow the right procedures, you can seek restitution." And in this case, he adds, it appears to be indicative of the system that has been created. "We have a lot of judges out there that nobody especially cares for," he says, "and they will continue to do their [own] bidding until they're replaced." Maginnis says it is a reality today that the United States gives civil liberties to individuals who are opposed to America's existence.

CG