Far Right Targets Wal-Mart for "Homosexual Activism"

For the Right, always the low road. Always.

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Ohio Televangelist Parsley Turns to California Legislation

“Patriot Pastor” warns of two pro-gay bills.

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Florida GOP Gubernatorial Primary Seen as Test of Religious Right

Will evangelicals turn out? And are they even listening to pressure groups?

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Hazleton Mayor Wants Santorum-Casey Debate on Immigration

To take place in town. Santorum staff helped spread his anti-immigrant ordinance.

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Anti-Immigrant Ordinance Pushed in Iowa

“United Citizens of America” wants “illegal aliens or terrorists” out of Council Bluffs.

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Anti-Tax Crusader Norquist Supports Church Politicking Bill

Maybe he just wants all of us to be tax-exempt.

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Unbeatable Martial-Arts Thespian Lends Fist to Bible-in-Schools Campaign

Chuck Norris, star of TV’s “Walker, Texas Ranger” as well as films including “Missing in Action” and “Delta Force 2,” and his wife Gena have joined the board of directors of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (NCBCPS):

“We receive a lot of requests to get behind a lot of things, but it took us only a few minutes to know that we were to stand behind this important work,” the Norrises said.  Mr. and Mrs. Norris are featured in a popular television public service announcement that encourages citizens to bring the Bible back to America’s public schools as an available elective course of study.  The announcements are aired on several national networks.

The Norris announcements inform viewers that they can call the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (NCBCPS) to receive information on how any citizen can help their local school board implement the NCBCPS curriculum. 

As People For the American Way Foundation’s research has revealed, the goal of NCBCPS is not to improve students’ understanding of history and literature, but to promote Christian doctrine in public schools – unlike other Bible curricula such as the Bible Literacy Project. In fact, a Florida court found that NCBCPS taught religious matters – such as miracles and Jesus’ resurrection – as historical fact, and held its New Testament section in violation of the separation of church and state.

However, fans of the First Amendment should be advised that Norris has not lost a fight since 1968.

[Chuck Norris]

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A Not-So-Hidden Agenda

[Staver] Mathew Staver of the Liberty Counsel, an organization that is directly tied to Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, used his weekly television broadcast to urge public school teachers to serve as “domestic missionaries” and promote Christianity in class under the guise of instruction. [Watch the Video: Broadband or Dial-Up]

The best way to accomplish this, Staver said, was for teachers to frame classroom discussions in a manner that allow them to examine the “Judeo-Christian influences on the subject matter” – whatever the subject may be

“[I]n literature class, art class, music class, whatever course it is, in my opinion, that course cannot be adequately taught or overviewed without talking about religion, in particular Judeo-Christian influences on the subject matter … Whether its in math class, science class, music class, in fact you can’t even study music without studying Christian music … so whatever topic it is, you can talk about this. Give the students a good, grounded education and get them interested in religious aspects, whether it’s intelligent design or whether its literature.”

Staver also noted that, once the class day is over, teachers have the opportunity to take their guerilla proselytizing to the next level because they can “put away all of the secular textbooks and they are totally unshackled at this point and now they can not just talk about religion but they can evangelize as well.” 

It is a lucky coincidence that Liberty Counsel’s primary mission is filing lawsuits in defense of students and teachers who claim to have had their religious liberties violated, because any teacher who follows his recommendations could very well end up needing his legal assistance.

Read more on Staver’s outrageous suggestions.   

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Heck No, Our Kids Won't Go (to School with Gay Kids)!

After the Governor of California recently signed into law two bills aiming to protect and support LGBT students, the president of a right-wing anti-public education organization urged ‘Christian’ parents to remove their children from public schools:

"'Heck no, our kids won't go!' should be the rallying cry of Christian parents this week as school starts, instead of following the broad road of perversion and destruction that California schools are offering," said Charles B. Lowers, Executive Director of Considering Homeschooling.

"Worldview surveys show that the majority of kids from Christian homes are humanists by graduation. School-based "clinics" are expanding (AB 2560) to ensure that your daughters get birth control and abortions without you knowing. Now that the homosexuals are dictating curriculum, 80-90% of Christians should be homeschooling, not the other way around!"

With a reference to the recent suspect in the murder of Jonbenet Ramsey, Lowers warns parents:

“Public school is no place for innocent little kids. If they don't get molested by the John Karr's who are in the system, their minds and hearts will be molested by the curriculum."

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American Conservative Union Pushes Congress on Last-Minute Agenda

Including immigration, ANWR, judges, and estate tax repeal.

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Far Right Furious with Schwarzenegger

Over law against anti-gay bias. Court challenge predicted.

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Right Wing Confused by Plan B Decision

Did Bush approve approval?

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Partisan Ex-Public Broadcasting Head Abusing New Office

According to a State Department report about Ken Tomlinson.

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Religious Right Plans Political Rallies Before Midterm Elections

Featuring James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, and Richard Land.

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Rep. Tancredo to Announce "New Strategy" on Immigration

At a Heritage Foundation event.

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Anti-Immigrant Ordinance Pushed in Tennessee

“We need to encourage them to leave Clarksville.” Also: Newton, New Jersey and Culpeper, Virginia.

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Anti-Immigrant Rally Set for Florida Sept. 9

Group advocates mass deportation.

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"Mothers Against" Immigrant Families

[The Arellanos]A group calling itself Mothers Against Illegal Aliens is targeting another mother – the undocumented mother of a 7-year-old U.S. citizen.

“Our beautiful Nation has been turned into a jungle by the mass invasion of illegal aliens,” reads the mission statement of the group, whose founder has said that “their children's job is to dumb down the American children and overpopulate our schools.” Now, MAIA is filing an abuse report against a woman who is staying with her U.S.-born son in a Chicago church, seeking to avoid deportation. The group is urging police to break up the mother and son, saying he should be “taken into protective custody or foster care until such time as [the mother]’s apprehension is executed.”

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Falwell Claims Anti-Immigrant Position Essential for Evangelical Votes in 2008

In his “Falwell Confidential” newsletter, right-wing stalwart Jerry Falwell attempts to describe the kind of candidate he believes “could win the energetic support of the evangelical vote” in the 2008 presidential election. In addition to conforming to the Religious Right’s positions on abortion and gay marriage, it’s “a given” that a candidate must be a “fiscal conservative” in order to appeal to evangelical Christians, according to Falwell. Also, Falwell claims that evangelicals can only support a candidate who will “utilize our God-given resources” in the form of off-shore oil drilling, and who will crack down on immigrants and their “contagious diseases.” Immigrants are simultaneously a “flood” and a “bleeding,” writes Falwell:

We must get tough on illegal immigration and begin enforcing present laws throughout our nation. … The construction of a 2000-mile fence (which some estimate will cost $10 billion), across our southwest border, from San Diego to the Gulf of Mexico, guarded by enough of America's finest to stop the endless flow of scores of thousands of illegal aliens into this nation, must be the absolute commitment of our next champion. The bleeding must be stopped immediately. …

Returning to adherence to our long-standing immigration laws is not an unreasonable demand. I realize I will be criticized by many for making this statement, but I am convinced we must halt the daily torrent of illegal immigrants who almost effortlessly enter our nation.  I know that many of these people are simply seeking a better life, but countless numbers of criminals are entering our nation.  Plus, contagious diseases that were virtually wiped out in America are resurfacing, primarily because of the flood of illegal immigration.  It must stop.

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The Benefits of Poverty

Media Matters caught Rush Limbaugh saying something characteristically idiotic

Rush Limbaugh blamed "the left" and the United Nations' Children Fund (UNICEF) for "the latest crisis" of "obesity among those who are impoverished," adding that Americans "[d]idn't teach them how to ... slaughter a cow to get the butter; we gave them the butter." Limbaugh also called the "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" campaign "[o]ne of the biggest scams on the face of the earth" because its goal was to "get everybody thinking the United Nations is feeding poor people."

According to the transcript provided by Media Matters, Limbaugh claimed

I think you might then say that the obesity crisis could be the fault of government, liberal government. Food stamps, all those -- you know, I'm gonna tell you people a story. I -- just, well, the government, you could say, is killing these people because we know obesity kills, and the government's killing the poor. The Bush administration is killing the poor with too much food.

Yeah, this cannot be attributed to the simple fact that healthy foods are generally far more expensive than unhealthy foods, so it must be that the poor are getting too much food.

As everyone knows, if there is one thing the poor are always complaining about, it’s having way too much food.

rush.jpg

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Just How Angry Can They Be?

There has been a lot of talk in the media in recent months about that the idea that the Right is angry with President Bush and the Republicans and that this anger might hurt the party in November.  

For instance, there is this piece today from McClatchy Newspapers making just this sort of prediction regarding the FDA’s recent decision to make the “morning after pill” available over the counter  - something the Right is none-too-happy about

Now the Family Research Council and other allies among social conservatives and in Congress are weighing a lawsuit to challenge the FDA's decision. News of such a confrontation just before this fall's elections could aggravate the White House's hopes of energizing conservatives to vote.

"This is not an issue that grabs people around the dinner table. It doesn't grab people like the war or taxes, or even marriage or the abortion decision in South Dakota," [Family Research Council’s Tom] McClusky said.

"But people are going to wonder why all these pro-life, pro-family groups are suing this administration."

Sitting at their kitchen tables in districts with close House races or states with close Senate races, some social conservatives could react with anger and not vote at all. Or they might remain sufficiently afraid of the Democrats to vote but too apathetic to help get anyone else to vote.

Just how much danger does this supposed right-wing rage really pose to the GOP?  Well, judge for yourself

Focus on the Family Action today announced a Stand for the Family rally to be held this fall in Nashville, Tenn. The event is designed to motivate and inform voters about the importance of voting their values in November.

"It's clear that people of faith must continue to go to the polls and vote their values," said James C. Dobson, Ph.D., chairman of Focus Action. "Our calling to be good citizens did not end in 2004 -– it requires us to be informed, diligent voters in each election.

"The issues at stake in this election demand our careful attention and involvement. The men and women elected to office will be entrusted with decisions that most affect America's families – protecting traditional marriage and the sanctity of life, as well as rolling back the judicial tyranny that plagues our nation. Voters in eight states, including Tennessee, will also have the opportunity to directly protect marriage by voting for state marriage-protection amendments."

Dobson will be joined by Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council Action; Gary Bauer, former presidential candidate and chairman of American Values and the Campaign for Working Families; Dr. Ken Hutcherson, pastor of Antioch Bible Church, near Seattle, Wash; and Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

As we have noted before, if the Right is indeed angry, they sure have a funny way of showing it.

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GOP Rep. Hefley May Come Back from Retirement to Run Against Far-Right Republican Nominee

Even as political forecasters predict the likelihood of the Republicans losing control of the House of Representatives amidst widespread voter dissatisfaction, a handful of Republican primary races may push some seats further to the right, thanks to the efforts of special-interest groups and right-wing PACs with big pockets. Earlier in August, incumbent Republican Rep. Joe Schwarz was unseated in his primary in Michigan, after more than a million dollars was spent by the anti-government Club for Growth, the anti-immigrant Minuteman PAC, and others.

On the same day, Doug Lamborn narrowly emerged from a crowded field in the primary race to succeed retiring Rep. Joel Hefley in the Colorado district that includes Colorado Springs, the home base of James Dobson’s Focus on the Family. Lamborn and his two main rivals, Lionel Rivera and the Hefley-endorsed Jeff Crank, each fought to establish himself as the furthest Right of the candidates. But right-wing groups latched on to Lamborn.

The Club for Growth, which specializes in primary challenges, campaigned heavily for Lamborn, running ads attacking both Crank and Rivera for being “liberal” tax-hikers. (Two talk radio stations refused to run a Club ad, claiming the tax-raising label thrown around was inaccurate in at least one case.) And the Christian Coalition’s Colorado chapter mailed out a flier (PDF) accusing Crank and Rivera of supporting the “radical homosexual agenda.” The Christian Coalition of Colorado – whose executive director was the brother of Lamborn’s campaign manager – was rebuked for the dubious ad by Colorado Springs-based pastor and National Association of Evangelicals President Ted Haggard, as well as by the national office of the Christian Coalition.

Now, it seems the take-no-prisoners primary strategy may backfire. The 71-year-old Hefley is said to be considering coming out of retirement and running for an 11th term as a write-in candidate, out of disgust at Lamborn’s tactics:

Rep. Joel Hefley is seriously considering running as a writein candidate to retain his seat rather than risk handing it over to Republican nominee Doug Lamborn.

In meetings with national political consultants, Hefley and his supporters have come up with yard-sign designs and the key messages of a possible campaign, Republican Party activist Peggy Littleton said.

Hefley, who has represented the 5th Congressional District for 20 years, has been the subject of a three-week push by high-level Republicans to take this nearly unheard-of step, Littleton said Monday. …

In announcing his retirement in February, Hefley said that he had done enough in Washington, D.C. He has reconsidered, those close to him say, because of his displeasure with Lamborn’s nomination.

UPDATE 8/31/06: Rep. Hefley says he won’t run, but he blasts Lamborn:

“I feel that he ran the most sleazy, dishonest campaign I’ve seen in a long, long time, and I can not support it,” Hefley said in a telephone interview. …

In his rebuke of Lamborn’s campaign, Hefley cited the attempts by Lamborn and third-party groups to portray Crank as a tax hiker and supporter of radical homosexual causes. Lamborn has defended his campaign as of one of issues and has said he had no interaction with groups that mailed out some of the most negative ads.

Though he will not endorse Lamborn, Hefley said it would be “very difficult” as well to support Democrat Jay Fawcett because he wants Republicans to keep control of the House. But he added: “I don’t know what I’m going to do at this point about that.”

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Will They Let Him Bring Alan Keyes as his Date?

Keyes.bmp After leading criticism of George Bush for speaking at Bob Jones University  and  “not repudiating the schools anti-Catholic teachings or policy banning interracial dating”, likely presidential candidate, John McCain, “left the door open for a visit” should an invitation come to him from BJU.

McCain said he'd have to look at the school's latest policy statements. "I understand they have made considerable progress," he said. "I can't remember when I've turned down a speaking invitation. I think I'd have to look at it."

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Protesting 9/11

The American Family Association is trying to keep CBS from airing a documentary about the attacks of September 11th … because it contains profanity.

In the AFA’s twisted view, CBS is airing the documentary not because it is the fifth anniversary of the tragedy, but because CBS wants to push the limits of indecency.

AFA is threatening to file complaints if the program airs uncensored.

CBS To Air Profanity-Laden Program

It is time to tell CBS and the other networks that enough is enough!

Not content with all the profanity already on TV, CBS has decided to air the profanity-laden unedited version of "9/11" on Sept. 10. The decision by CBS is a slap in the face to the FCC and Congress, which recently raised indecency fines to $325,000 per incident.

"9/11," which will be shown in prime-time, contains a tremendous amount of hardcore profanity. CBS has stated they have not, and will not, make any cuts in the amount and degree of profanity. CBS will ignore the law. The network is suing the FCC over the indecency law, saying they should be able to show whatever they desire whenever they desire. CBS wants no limits.

This is a test case for CBS to see how far they can go. If there is no out-pouring of complaints from the public, they will go further the next time.

The profanity is so bad that CBS has warned their affiliates that they could be subject to huge fines. The FCC says it will fine not only the networks, but also affiliates if the law is violated. Under the new Broadcast Decency Act the $325,000 per incident could run into millions of dollars not only for the network but also for local affiliates.

CBS could very easily bleep out the profanity, but they refuse. The goal of CBS is to be able to show whatever they want at anytime. The network wants no restraints on their programming. If they are allowed to get away with this, they will simply air even more profanity in the future.

Take Action

It is time to tell CBS and the other networks that enough is enough!.

Send an email, asking the FCC to enforce the law. Your email will go not only to the FCC, but also to CBS.

Contact your local CBS affiliate and ask them not to air "9/11." Click Here to find their contact information or use your local phone directory.

Please forward this to your friends and family. Share this information with members of your Sunday School class and church, and urge them to get involved.

If no changes are made and your CBS affiliate carries the program, AFA will provide you with information for filing a formal complaint with the FCC.

Send Your Letter Now!

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Sensenbrenner Too Busy With Immigration to Talk About Immigration

The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting article on the growing dissatisfaction among the business community, normally staunch Republican supporters, with the GOP’s hard-line anti-immigration stance.

As the WSJ reported “Hard-line lawmakers are betting that a focus on enforcement -- stopping illegal immigration at the border and stepping up deportation -- will energize conservative voters.”

Some in the GOP seem to be taking it a step further, telling traditional business supporters that if they don’t like it … well … too bad

That may explain why the debate doesn't seem to be moving in the business community's direction. "If the business community were voting on this, they'd be winning. But they're not convincing anybody they're voting on this," says Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who backs House Republicans' focus on enforcement, says: "If the business community believes they would be better off with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, they should go help them."

Christmas-tree grower Arlene Frelk, of Merrillan, Wis., says she was unsuccessful recently when trying to meet in Washington with Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R., Wis.) to discuss immigration. Ms. Frelk, a Republican, did meet with a Sensenbrenner aide; she came to Washington as part of a "fly-in" organized by the American Agri-Women and wanted to tell the lawmaker that the House-passed immigration bill he sponsored would harm her business.

On the way home, she says she and her daughter saw the Judiciary Committee chairman at the airport baggage claim. When they approached him, Ms. Frelk says, Mr. Sensenbrenner told her that "this is his free time and he didn't want to be bothered" and walked away.

Sensenbrenner was probably returning from one of the various anti-immigration hearings he’s been chairing around the country over the last month – hearings he says are important because they allow lawmakers "to hear testimony from local people, as well as to talk with them informally."

If Sensenbrenner really was interested in hearing from local people and talking informally about the need for comprehensive immigration reform, he’ll probably never get a better opportunity than when he’s picking up his luggage at the airport  - unfortunately, he apparently doesn’t like to be bothered in his free time by constituents who are directly impacted by his legislation.  

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I Wasn’t Talking To You 

The GOP has a time-tested electoral strategy: when making remarks for public consumption, sound moderate; but when addressing the right-wing base, let your inner right winger loose.

As if Rep. Katherine Harris’ futile bid for the Senate didn’t have enough problems, she has now gone and violated the GOP’s most basic rule

Rep. Katherine Harris sought Saturday to smother a campaign brushfire stoked by an earlier claim that failure to elect Christians to public office would allow lawmakers to "legislate sin."

Harris, appearing at a gun show in Orlando, said she did not mean to offend non-Christians in her comments to the Florida Baptist Witness last week. She explained that she referred exclusively - and repeatedly - to Christians because she was being interviewed by the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist State Convention.

Harris' campaign also released a statement Saturday. It described her strong support of Israel and said when Harris called the separation of church and state a "lie" she was addressing "a common misperception that people of faith should not be actively involved in government."

"My rallying cry," she said, "has always been people of all faiths should be involved."

Harris ignited a furor with her Witness interview. She sounded a fervent evangelical tone, saying that God "chooses our rulers," that voters needed to send Christians to political office and that God did not intend for the United States to be a "nation of secular laws."

Speaking to Witness editors, Harris said:

"If you are not electing Christians, tried and true, under public scrutiny and pressure, if you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin."

"If we are the ones not actively involved in electing those godly men and women," then "we're going to have a nation of secular laws. That's not what our founding fathers intended and that's (sic) certainly isn't what God intended."

On Friday, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Democrats and Republicans blasted the comments, saying Harris was suggesting non-Christians were less suited to govern or should be excluded altogether.

To her credit, Harris at least recognized her error – not the error of what she said, mind you, simply the error of allowing her remarks to reach an audience beyond her intended target

"My comments were specifically directed toward a Christian group," said Harris.

Note to Harris: You are running for office from Florida, not Las Vegas.  

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Dobson Pours Hundreds of Thousands into Colorado Marriage Amendment

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that Focus on the Family and Focus on the Family Action have given more than $500,000 to support a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in the state – providing all of the money for Coloradans for Marriage.

The money has been used to buy ads on Colorado Springs and Denver television stations that haven’t aired. Jim Pfaff, a spokesman for Colorado Family Action Issue Committee and a Focus Action official, would not say when the ads might air. …

Focus founder James Dobson recently wrote: “I believe that this November’s results will have a significant impact on the future of marriage in our nation. This crucial institution is under attack, but we can turn the tide — if we are registered to vote, and we go to the polls!”

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Anti-Immigrant Ordinances Bad for Business in Small Towns

Citing parking problems and a supposed strain on public services, the Riverside, New Jersey township committee unanimously passed a Hazleton-style anti-immigrant ordinance in July to punish those who hire or rent housing to undocumented immigrants. Now the struggling business district of the town of 8,000, near Camden, is seeing a “devastating impact” from the law, reports the Courier-Post:

Franco Ordonez, a native of Ecuador who runs the King Chicken restaurant on Scott Street, says five Latino-owned businesses have closed in recent weeks as the township has stepped up its efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants.

Ordonez said he expects two or three more to close within a month. "People are scared of what's being done," he said. "Almost the entire population is gone."

Meanwhile older, more traditional businesses have also suffered.

Dave Ercolani, owner of Foster's Hardware, figures his business is down by one-third. "I'm going to be out of here in three months," said Ercolani, 64, who hastened to add that he planned to retire "long before this happened."

According to a Latino business group, the Riverside Coalition of Business Persons and Landlords, “sales at about 25 commercial establishments have fallen 50 percent” due to the ordinance.

In Hazleton, Pennsylvania itself -- where just one year ago the mayor cited immigrants as having revitalized the city’s economy -- one business area has gone from bustling to boarded-up in just three weeks.

Nevertheless, on Wednesday Riverside’s council voted to bolster its ordinance. More anti-immigrant ordinances are being introduced in Arcadia, Wisconsin; Altoona, Pennsylvania; and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In Forty Fort, Pennsylvania – where a “pre-emptive” ordinance ultimately failed to pass last week – somebody is anonymously putting up fliers warning of the supposed threat from immigrants and issuing a "wake-up call to Americans to become active in defense of our nation’s rule of law."

Riverside, NJ

Anti-immigrant protestors in Riverside, New Jersey. The sign says “Drive your vans back across the Rio Grande.” (Courier-Post)

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It’s Just That Simple

The 16th International Conference on AIDS was held last week in Toronto and focused on “bringing effective HIV prevention and treatment strategies to communities the world over.” 

The conference featured dozens of health experts, as well as Bill Gates and former President Clinton.  But one person it did not feature was Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson of the Brotherhood Organization of A New Destiny (BOND).

And that is unfortunate, because Peterson’s contribution surely would have been valuable

The solution to the black AIDS epidemic is simple; it does not require a "summit," a "conference" or anything "international." It requires nothing more than a return to God, family and responsibility. The AIDS problem would almost disappear if blacks would take responsibility for their out of control lifestyles.

Who ever would have guessed that, after twenty five years and millions of deaths, the solution to the AIDS crisis would be found in the pages of WorldNetDaily?  

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Malkin: Mexican-Americans Have "No Appreciation For This Country"

Michelle Malkin, a frequent guest on Fox News’ “O’Reilly Factor,” told host Bill O’Reilly last night that Mexican-Americans and immigrants in the Los Angeles area were unlike Cuban-Americans and immigrants in the Miami area because they have “no appreciation for this country” and could not assimilate. Furthermore, Malkin asserted that millions of immigrants from Mexico, in addition to the Mexican government itself, are actively plotting a militant takeover of the American Southwest.

[O'Reilly and Malkin]

Watch the video: Broadband or Dial-Up.

O’REILLY: So I know that there's an undercurrent of militancy that says hey, this is our territory. You stole it from us in the Mexican-American War. We're going to take it back now by illegal immigration. But I think that's a fringe nutty group, not the mass of millions that we have.

MALKIN: Well, I guess I disagree with you there, Bill, because I mean, we saw in April and May of this year that supposed fringe come out into the mainstream. And it wasn't just a dozen folks who are ensconced in the ivory tower who believe that the southwest is “Aztlan” and it belongs to them. You had people from Wisconsin, to Phoenix, to California, to Seattle carrying those signs saying that by sheer demographic force, they have reclaimed Los Angeles. They reclaim Phoenix.

O'REILLY: So you agree with Buchanan, then. You think that this massive immigration to the United States, 15 million strong, is a part of a plan to bring back territory to Mexico?

MALKIN: Well, I take the Mexican government at its word when it says that is exactly its plan. If you look at the Mexican consulate that are active, political lobbyists who have entrenched themselves in the American mainstream, and who have succeeded in blurring the lines between illegal and legal immigration, yes, there's a plan.

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Speaking of Ralph Reed

The Associated Press reports that since his loss in his run for Lt. Governor in Georgia, Ralph Reed has been keeping a low profile – as least from the Texas tribe that is trying to serve him with a lawsuit

A Texas Indian tribe who filed a federal lawsuit against ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates says former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and another defendant have been avoiding being served with a copy of the suit.

The Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Livingston filed a lawsuit in July alleging the men engaged in fraud and racketeering to shut down the tribe's casino. Aside from Abramoff and Reed, the suit names their associates, Michael Scanlon, Jon Van Horne and Neil Volz.

Attorney Fred Petti said Van Horne and Reed are making it difficult to serve them "by making themselves unavailable."

"It's like they've gone underground," said Petti, one of the tribe's attorneys.

Once served, the men would have 20 days to answer the suit or file a motion to dismiss it.

"They all know they've been sued...because of the media attention," Petti said. "But you have to physically give them a copy of it."

According to press reports from when the tribe first filed suit last month

The Alabama-Coushatta said Abramoff and others conspired to defeat a bill in the 2001 Legislature that would have allowed it to operate gaming on its reservation. Reed helped to rally Christians against the bill with a group he formed, Committee Against Gambling, the tribe alleged.

The tribe, which says it has strong Christian values, alleges Reed's group called state legislators, sent targeted mailings to voters and ran radio ads against the bill without revealing their true origins, preventing the tribe from fighting back.

Reed's work made the opposition to the tribe's casino appear to be based on Christian concerns, not competitive concerns from its sister tribe, the Alabama-Coushatta said.

Had the public or tribe known the Louisiana Coushatta tribe was the main opponent, Christian groups would have been "less mobilized." Because the Texas and Louisiana tribes share family ties, Louisiana Coushatta members would have opposed the attack on their sister tribe, the Alabama-Coushatta said.

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The Dwindling Coalition

The Associated Press reports that the Christian Coalition is not merely losing supporters, it is losing entire chapters

Three disgruntled state affiliates have severed ties with the Christian Coalition of America, one of the nation's most powerful conservative groups during the 1990s but now buffeted by complaints over finances, leadership and its plans to veer into nontraditional policy areas.

"It's a very sad day for our people, but a liberating day," said John Giles, president of the coalition's Alabama chapter, which announced Wednesday that it was renaming itself and splitting from the national organization. The Iowa and Ohio chapters took similar steps this year.

According to the Montgomery Advertiser, the split between the national organization and the Alabama chapter stems from opposition to the organization’s settlement with the IRS over its use of voter guides, its support for Alabama Gov. Bob Riley's tax package, and its recent foray into issues not traditionally of importance to the Right, such as the minimum wage, the environment and “net neutrality.”

The Alabama chapter may have also had a more a personal reason to sever ties with the organization, considering that is had been cynically manipulated by the Coalition’s former Executive Director Ralph Reed in his efforts to protect Jack Abramoff’s casino-owning clients

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El Paso Rejects Immigration Enforcement by Local Police

Like Butler County, Ohio Sheriff Richard K. Jones -- who has been running a freelance anti-immigrant dragnet out of his office -- El Paso County, Texas Sheriff Leo Samaniego wants to take federal immigration law into his own hands. Earlier this summer, Samaniego launched “Operation Linebacker,” sending his deputies out at roadblocks to ask travelers for proof of citizenship.

While Samaniego suspended the project (a “temporary” suspension) after a lawsuit and complaints from civil rights groups, the sheriff has continued to push the idea that local police should act as federal immigration enforcement officers. Last week, Samaniego appeared before an immigration hearing held by the House Republicans in El Paso, where he expressed his desire to arrest undocumented immigrants.

Now, in reaction to Samaniego’s freelance efforts and their effect on community safety, El Paso County has approved a resolution stating that county employees “should not ask about the immigration status of crime victims, witnesses or people seeking help,” according to El Paso Times.

While many law enforcement officers – including El Paso’s police chief, Richard Wiles – recognize that having a population afraid to talk to police will result in unsolved crimes, County Commission Dan Haggerty, the sole vote against the measure, said that that’s the way it should be:

"Our communities are very afraid of calling the police. When someone from your family is here undocumented and they call the sheriff for domestic violence, they know they will be asked immigration status and they would rather not call," [Border Network for Human Rights coordinator Betty] Camargo said.

"As an illegal in this country, you should be afraid to call law enforcement agencies," Haggerty said.

Samaniego emphasized that he considers the county’s resolution “non binding.”

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"War on Christmas" Early This Year

Last year, leading right-wing groups and Fox News Channel hosts created an impressive campaign to warn the American public of a “secret plan” on the part of liberals to “ban” Christmas and destroy Christianity itself. They called it the “War on Christmas” – a battle they compared to the Nazi war in Europe – and it was even taken up by Congress and incorporated into the effort to confirm Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

Although it is currently 90 degrees in Washington on this day in August, we now present the first salvo in the 2006 “War on Christmas.” The American Family Association, which last year attempted to organize boycotts of Target and other retailers that were heard muttering “Happy Holidays” to their customers (rather than “Merry Christmas”), has been monitoring the “Holiday” situation in a Sam’s Club catalog for almost two months:

Even though it is August, the Christmas advertising season has already begun and Sam's Club has come down on the side of "Holidays" instead of "Christmas."

In the August/September issue of their in-house magazine Source, Sam's Club has one page dedicated to Christmas. But Sam's Club doesn't refer to Christmas as being Christmas. Sam's Club promotes it as "Holidays."

On page 69 of Source, the promotional plug says: "Coming soon. Plan ahead for the holidays." On the page decorated in Christmas fashion are three products. Sam's Club wants you to buy "Holiday Cards," "Holiday Ribbon," and "Holiday Gift Bags."

On the "Christmas" page, the word Christmas isn't used! View the page ad.

On June 26, AFA wrote Wal-Mart (which owns Sam's Club) asking that they not ban "Christmas" in advertising and promotions. Included in that letter was a CD with the names of 201,595 individuals who signed the petition asking for no ban. Wal-Mart, ignoring the letter, did not even bother to respond.

[Wal-Mart offends Christianity with 'holiday' greeting]

Wal-Mart’s alleged attack on Christianity, from the August/September issue of Source, the exclusive periodical for Sam’s Club members.

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Priscilla Said It Was Okay

When the White House announced the nomination of Harriet Miers for a seat on the Supreme Court, the nomination was met with overwhelming opposition from the Right.

The Bush Administration responded by trotting out one of Miers’ close friends, Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht, to assure the Right that Miers opposed abortion.  

Ultimately, it was all for naught as Miers withdrew her nomination citing bogus concerns over access to internal White House documents, though the reality was that her nomination was killed by Bush’s own base.

But while Miers’ publicly humiliating travails are over from her nomination period, Hecht’s are not.

In May, the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct admonished Hecht for violating the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct concluding that "Justice Hecht's actions on behalf of Harriet Miers constituted persistent and willful violations of Canons 2B and 5(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct."

Hecht has appealed and is arguing, at least in part, that Priscilla Owen said it was okay:

Hecht testified that the rules — ones that the Texas Supreme Court itself issues — were never intended to include a judge’s comments about a U.S. Supreme Court nominee but were adopted to keep judges out of local political races. But Hecht testified that he sought advice from former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips and Appeals Court Judge Priscilla Owen and was told that he was free to comment.

Considering that Owen has a long history of rewriting and disregarding the law in order to achieve her desired results, perhaps Hecht should have sought out a more reliable source of advice on this issue. 

The Commission stated that Hecht violated

1. Canon 2B of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct states, in pertinent part: "A judge shall not lend the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of the judge or others."

2. Canon 5(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct states, in pertinent part: "A judge or judicial candidate shall not authorize the public use of his or her name endorsing another candidate for any public office, except that either may indicate support for a political party."

According to the Commission, Hecht

[A]llowed his name and title to be used by the press and the White House in support of his close friend, Harriet Miers, a nominee for the office of United States Supreme Court Justice. Such public support by a judicial official elected to the highest court in Texas, in the eyes of the public and the rest of the judiciary, would be construed as an endorsement of Miers' candidacy, as those terms are commonly used and understood. Because the Commission views Miers' desire for a lifetime appointment to the United States Supreme Court to be a private interest, the efforts of Justice Hecht in promoting his friend's candidacy by responding to media inquiries and assisting the White House in its efforts to convince powerful special interest groups to support her candidacy, constituted an improper use of his office and position to promote Miers' private interest.

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Falwell Wages War on Two Fronts Against Celebrities, Committed Gay Couples

Falwell Wages War on Two Fronts Against Celebrities, Committed Gay Couples

Right-wing powerhouse Jerry Falwell, who earlier this summer took Angelina Jolie to task for “having babies and making headlines all over the world,” offered his Lynchburg, Virginia congregation and television audience this Sunday a further critique of celebrities who he claims “hate America”:

I don’t know why anybody would go to a Hollywood movie with a Johnny Depp or any of those guys who hate America. You know, I just—it’s just unreal. If you hate the country, go somewhere else! And the Dixie Chicks, I call them the French Hens. [APPLAUSE]

When you talk about my country and about my president, you lose my support, and my respect. And that’s what the—the common people in this country are still right on family.

Watch the video: Broadband or Dial-Up.

While the connection between “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and same-sex marriage is less than clear, Falwell used his attack on celebrities who criticize President Bush to segue to Virginia’s upcoming vote on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, which he urged his congregation to vote for.

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Immigration Hearing Not a Learning Experience for Congressman

The House Republicans’ summer-long immigration road show continues, with so-called hearings in New Hampshire on Thursday and Illinois next Tuesday. Meanwhile, a hearing planned for upstate New York has been cancelled for unknown reasons. Perhaps even members of the House committees behind the hearings have begun to sense the futility of such political exercises.

At one hearing last week in Georgia, Rep. Charlie Norwood lashed out at a witness from the non-partisan Congressional Research Service who wasn’t making the congressman’s points properly:

"What I wanted was witnesses who agree with me, not disagree with me," Norwood said after presiding over an immigration hearing Tuesday in Gainesville.

On Wednesday, the Augusta Republican took center stage over two congressional colleagues at a hearing in Dalton, telling a federal bureaucrat with whom he didn't agree that he would be calling her boss to complain.

Alison Siskin, an immigration specialist with the Congressional Research Service, said studies have been unclear about whether illegal immigrants have had much impact on government health care.

"The studies are all over the place," she said. "There are not studies that have shown rampant abuse."

Norwood told Siskin he was "disappointed" in her testimony, and that he planned to complain to her superiors.

“Facts are stubborn things,” said John Adams, and some studies show immigrants use less, not more health care than others. Perhaps Norwood, who said he did not learn anything new from the hearings he held, prefers Ronald Reagan’s version: “Facts are stupid things.”

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Riding a “Wave” of Their Own Imagination

Whenever there is some moronic angle to a current story that no reputable news source will even consider, you can always count on WorldNetDaily to highlight it, complete with biased "experts" and ridiculous analysis.  

For example, Americans for Legal Immigration PAC president, William Gheen, says 

[H]e believes the number of gang rapes is increasing as the population of illegal aliens in the U.S. increases.

"Many illegal aliens have a rape and pillage mentality toward America," he said. "The government has shown them they can break our laws on many levels without much fear of enforcement. Why should they think of rape or gang rape any differently?"

Gheen said, "Illegal aliens are more likely to engage in these crimes because rapes and gang rapes are much more common in the gang-rule Third World areas they come from."

Gheen made his comments in a WorldNetDaily story that "reports"

A wave of illegal-immigrant gang rapes is sweeping the U.S. while public officials and law-enforcement authorities fear drawing the link, experts say.

Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, a Ph.D. researcher of violent crimes, told WorldNetDaily, "It appears as if there is a fear that if this is honestly discussed, people will hate all illegal immigrants. So there is silence. … But in being silent about the rapes and murders, it is as if the victims never even existed."

Maybe nobody is talking about this supposed wave because it exists only in the fevered minds of the staff at WND and Americans for Legal Immigration.  If illegal immigrants were actually responsible for a “wave” of gang-rapes, one would assume that Americans for Legal Immigration would be tracking more than 12 alleged incidents in the last two years as they claim.

This sort of fear-mongering, right-wing propaganda masquerading as news is standard practice for WorldNetDaily and its record of accuracy is not particularly good - back in 2002, it was relying on other “experts” in reporting that the sniper attacks that were terrorizing the Washington, DC region were being carried out by foreigners, probably al-Qaida, and would soon spread around the country.

That, of course, turned out not to be the case at all.

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Telling Off the Christian Coalition

Heh!

The Christian Coalition of Alabama wants to know where candidates for the state Legislature stand on a wide variety of issues, ranging from prayer in school to abortion to whether people who are homosexual should be allowed to serve in the Alabama National Guard.

The coalition has mailed a nine-page, 76-question survey to candidates and plans to use the answers in its voter guide, which will be distributed in churches across the state before the Nov. 7 general election.

The survey did not sit well with some Democratic legislators, who said they believe the purpose is to use their answers against them.

"They do it purposely to campaign for the candidates they want and to hurt the candidates they don't want," said Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, an outspoken critic of state Christian Coalition President John Giles.

After receiving the survey, Holmes sent a letter to Giles saying he would answer all the questions if Giles would answer questions revealing the source of the Christian Coalition's money. Holmes has supported a bill opposed by Giles that would force the Christian Coalition and other nonprofit groups to disclose the source of money used to run ads to influence a legislative issue or a referendum.

"Until you answer those three questions, GO STRAIGHT TO HELL," Holmes said in the letter to Giles.

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Anti-Immigrant Ordinance Pioneer Warns of Threat from Inferior Cultures

While a number of localities have adopted or are considering implementing anti-immigrant ordinances modeled after Hazleton, Pennsylvania’s “Illegal Immigration Relief Act,” Hazleton’s measure was almost directly adopted from a failed petition drive in San Bernardino, California, written by Joseph Turner, head of a group called Save Our State. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on how the effort spread from California to the small town of Valley Park, Missouri, where – despite a lack of problems with its immigrant community – police have begun enforcing the new law:

From the beginning, this is how Joseph Turner envisioned his idea to target illegal immigrants would play out: Local communities taking up his cause and moving the issue from the halls of Congress into the chambers of city council. Today, the 29-year-old activist from California is watching cities across the country enact or consider laws to crack down on illegal immigration. They are working off a blueprint he wrote. And some, including Valley Park, have already made it law. …

Turner, founder of the anti-illegal immigration group Save Our State and an aide to a state legislator, touted his plan on the radio and sent out hundreds of e-mails to city officials throughout the nation. He failed to get enough signatures to force a vote on the law in San Bernardino. But word of his cause spread. And eventually, a handful of municipalities adopted ordinances nearly identical to the one he championed.

Turner describes himself as enjoying a “fulfilling experience” in response to stories about families being driven out of Valley Park. He also outlines his ideology:

Turner, who believes state and federal leaders have moved too slowly on immigration reform, describes himself as a "proud nationalist."

"I believe this country is superior and I believe our culture is superior to all others," he declared.

He sees illegal immigrants as the pre-eminent threat to that culture.

Turner is echoing sentiments expressed by Samuel Huntington and Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado), who warn of a “clash of civilizations” that threatens what Huntington calls America’s “Anglo-Protestant values.” Last year, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported how such an approach tends to attract white supremacists, who see an outfit like Save Our State as a “Trojan horse” for extremists to influence mainstream politics.

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Hitler as Darwin's Love Child

In the past when right-wingers wanted to link some idea they didn't like to Nazism, they would use an analogy so they wouldn't have to take direct responsibility for raising the specter of Hitler. 

For instance, James Dobson attacked stem-cell research by making this not-so-subtle Nazi comparison  

In World War II, the Nazis experimented on human beings in horrible ways in the concentration camps, and I imagine, if you wanted to take the time to read about it, there would have been some discoveries there that benefited mankind.

Others, like Russell Johnson, prefer to innocently suggest that evangelicals who are pro-life but don’t get involved in politics are akin to “the kind of people who enabled Hitler to take care of Auschwitz."

The point is that people rarely make a direct connection between current controversies and Hitler, preferring rather to insinuate that certain things share specific qualities with Hitler or Nazism.  

No more.  Now, poor Charles Darwin is not only being compared to Hitler -- he's being held directly responsible for the Nazi genocide.

As we have noted several times before, D. James Kennedy is the main proponent of the “Darwin = Hitler” idea and now he is bringing his message to the masses

Author and Christian broadcaster Dr. D. James Kennedy connects the dots between Charles Darwin and Adolf Hitler in Darwin’s Deadly Legacy, a groundbreaking inquiry into Darwin’s chilling social impact. The new television documentary airs nationwide on August 26 and 27 on The Coral Ridge Hour.  

The program features 14 scholars, scientists, and authors who outline the grim consequences of Darwin’s theory of evolution and show how his theory fueled Hitler’s ovens.

“To put it simply, no Darwin, no Hitler,” said Dr. Kennedy, the host of Darwin’s Deadly Legacy. “Hitler tried to speed up evolution, to help it along, and millions suffered and died in unspeakable ways because of it.”

And should Kennedy’s rigorous logic and rock-solid arguments needs any further bolstering, it’ll undoubtedly be provided by noted scientific expert Ann Coulter, who is featured on the program.  An excerpt of her contribution was shown on this week’s “Coral Ridge Hour”  [Watch the video: Broadband or Dial-Up]

I’ll let the scientists decide what should be taught in science class,  but it seems to me the one thing that shouldn’t be taught in science class is a crack pot nineteenth century mystery religion … [public schools are] the left’s madrassas and they propagandize to the children six hours a day, 12 years of the child life.

Take that, Darwin!  Your meager little theory’s days are numbered, for there is simply no way that it will be able withstand this sort of attack coming from intellectual and scientific heavyweights such as Kennedy and Coulter.  

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Former FRC Head Discounts GOP "Lip Service" on Religious Right Issues

While James Dobson, head of Focus on the Family and founder of the Family Research Council, has apparently abandoned his threat to hold back on support for Republicans this year, his former lieutenant Ken Connor is still warning that the base may “stay at home.” Connor, the former president of FRC who now heads his own Center for a Just Society, writes that “Christian conservatives” were “in no small part” to thank for the election of George W. Bush, but now—despite a recent politically-timed effort to vote on socially-charged bills—  they ask, “‘What have you done for me lately?’”

A review of the recent record leaves them chagrined.  Notwithstanding the party's lip service, and aside from the confirmation of two promising (yet untested) Supreme Court justices, little real progress has been made in the last two years toward advancing the values agenda.  Planned Parenthood has not been prevented from receiving hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.  The federal courts' jurisdiction has not been trimmed to limit its ability to hear cases involving abortion or same-sex marriage. And the Republican-controlled Congress is outspending its liberal Democratic predecessors.

No doubt, the Republicans would point to the vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment as a testament to their commitment to values voters' priorities.  It was, however, little more than a cynical ploy.  Republican leaders knew the measure had no chance of passage and did precious little to make it pass. That they couldn't even muster majority support in the Republican-controlled Senate is evidence of just how anemic their efforts really were.  Eyewash is not a substitute for the real thing.

In truth, the Republican Party in the last two years has done what it regarded as the absolute minimum necessary to pacify its values voter base.  Sadly, that pacification has come cheap.  Meanwhile, the party has worked hard to advance the agenda of the moneyed and business interests that finance its campaigns.  The unmistakable message has been that the party values money over votes.

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Missouri Stem Cell Rally Predicts Dystopian Future, Clone Slavery

Rick Scarborough held his second rally to oppose a Missouri ballot initiative on embryonic stem cell research. At the first, former talk show host and presidential candidate Alan Keyes compared the anti-stem cell campaign to the civil rights movement. In a Cape Girardeau high school gymnasium last night, Keyes suggested the amendment would lead to the creation of an army of slave clones. From the Southeast Missourian:

Speakers at the Christians Against Human Cloning rally painted the proposal as the next step in a satanic onslaught, using promises of cures to promote tyranny and death.

Alan Keyes, the keynote speaker, said embryonic stem-cell research is the moral equivalent of Nazi medical experiments on the inmates of death camps during World War II.

And despite wording in Amendment 2 imposing harsh criminal penalties on anyone attempting to create a living human clone using the stem-cell research techniques, Keyes raised the possibility of an industrial effort to produce clones.

The result, he said, would be "new legions of humans to be enslaved and brutalized."

While Keyes envisioned the clone legions, Scarborough claimed that supporters of the amendment “are leveling their howitzers at the prayer army” composed of his followers.

Rally in Cape Girardeau
(Don Frazier, Southeast Missourian)

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Families Continue to Suffer from Results of Anti-Immigrant Ordinances

The AP has more on the story of anti-immigrant rhetoric clashing with real people’s lives in Valley Park, Missouri, a small town that has had no problem with immigrants but passed a Hazleton-like ordinance as a “preventative measure”:

An ordinance passed July 17 fines landlords $500 per violation for knowingly renting to illegal immigrants. Many of the families that have left were staying at Cheryl Lane Apartments. Some left so quickly they didn't take their furniture, apartment owner James Zhang told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Zhang and his apartment manager went door-to-door last week, telling residents that if they weren't in the country legally, they needed to move out. Of his 48 units, 20 are now empty, said Zhang, noting that the fine is more than the $450 he charges for monthly rent. …

[Mayor Jeffery] Whitteaker said he has received hundreds of calls and e-mails from across the nation, nearly all of them expressing support. "It really gives you a warm feeling to know the whole country is behind you," he said.

Whitteaker said he was glad to hear illegal immigrants were leaving the city.

Other local ordinances are now being considered in Palm Bay, Florida; Escondido, California; Bridgeport, Pennsylvania; Bogota, New Jersey; Sandwich, Massachusetts; and elsewhere.

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Kennedy: Evolution to Blame for Death, Hopelessness in World

Recently, televangelist D. James Kennedy has been soliciting donations for his forthcoming documentary which he says will expose the “harmful effects that evolution is still having on our nation, our children, and our world.” Whether he means evolutionary effects like the opposable thumb or he is alluding to some kind of social decay caused by learning about the scientific theory, he intends to take back “entire public school system of America.”

A new pamphlet from his Center for Reclaiming America for Christ offers a preview of Kennedy’s “harmful effects” approach. The pamphlet quotes from Mein Kampf and makes the connection: “Sounds eerily similar to Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest!’” According to Kennedy,

The great lesson of the Holocaust is what happens when man tries to decide who should live and who should die, when man tries to ‘clean up the gene pool’ from those viewed as undesirable. To put it simply, no Darwin, no Hitler. …

We have had 150 years of the theory of Darwinian evolution, and what has it brought us? Whether Darwin intended it or not, millions of deaths, the destruction of those deemed inferior, the devaluing of human life, increasing hopelessness; Darwin’s theory has been deadly, indeed. … The time has come to recognize that evolution is a bad idea and should be, frankly, discarded into the dustbin of history.

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Religious Profiling

Bill O’Reilly weighs in on the recent alleged terrorist plot to blow up several inter-continental flights and, as would be expected, he makes a typically erudite argument [watch the video: Broadband or Dial-Up]

Now it's long past time for the USA to stop the nonsense and institute profiling at airports. We're not at war with Granny Frickett. We're at war with Muslim fanatics.

So all young Muslims should be subjected to more scrutiny than Granny. And we should blend some Israeli screening procedures with our own.

For example, trained security people should receive the passenger list on every flight and interview those people most likely to be terrorists, folks who have traveled to Muslim countries, people who have criminal records. Passengers who are Muslims ages 16 to 45 all should be spoken with. And if the ACLU doesn't like it, tough. This isn't racial profiling. This is criminal profiling.

Well, President Bush has traveled to a Muslim country and has a criminal record, so he apparently qualifies for extra screening.  

In addition to the President, O’Reilly also wants all Muslims ages 16 to 45 to receive additional scrutiny and correctly notes that such scrutiny isn’t “racial profiling” – it’s “religious profiling.”  Of course, it’s not clear how screeners would identify passengers’ religion, though O’Reilly seems to presume that anyone who appears to be of Arab descent is Muslim and vice-versa.

Assuming that individuals of a specific race or religion are more likely to be criminals or terrorists, which is what O’Reilly is espousing, is - by definition – both racial and religious profiling.  

Calling it “criminal profiling” doesn’t change that fact.  

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Club for Growth's Millions Fail in Nevada

Last week disparate Right Wing groups converged on a GOP primary in Michigan and defeated an incumbent congressman who had been endorsed by Bush. Leading the charge against Rep. Joe Schwarz was the anti-government Club for Growth PAC, which sent over $1 million to the race. Along with another primary victory in Colorado, the Club crowed that they were 8 for 2 in their strategy of sending massive amounts of cash to primary races to drive the Republican Party further to the Right.

But this week the Club tasted the “agony of defeat” when Sharron Angle narrowly lost the GOP primary in Nevada’s second district. The Club for Growth’s 527 group spent $1 million on independent expenditures on the race, including this ad, typical of their style, which concludes “DEAN HELLER = BIG LIBERAL.”

Similarly, the anti-immigrant Minuteman PAC had also actively opposed Schwarz in Michigan and had then turned its sights on supporting Angle, running a TV ad saying Angle would “stop coddling illegals.”

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Well Then, No Apology Necessary

Francis Rice, chairman of the National Black Republican Association, took to the pages of Human Events in an attempt to

[B]reak the Democrats' stranglehold on the black vote and free black Americans from the Democrat Party's economic plantation, [by shedding] the light of truth on the Democrats. We must demonstrate that the Democrat Party policies of socialism and dependency on government handouts offer the pathway to poverty, while Republican Party principles of hard work, personal responsibility, getting a good education and ownership of homes and small businesses offer the pathway to prosperity

Rice attempts to accomplish this by telling African Americans that the Democratic Party was responsible for everything from slavery and the civil war to Jim Crowe and the Ku Klux Klan.  And, according to Rice, they are still bad for African Americans today

After wrongly convincing black Americans that a minimum wage increase was a good thing, the Democrats on August 3 kept their promise and killed the minimum wage bill passed by House Republicans on July 29. The blockage of the minimum wage bill was the second time in as many years that Democrats stuck a legislative finger in the eye of black Americans.  

Huh?  Democrats “wrongly” convinced African Americans that increasing the minimum wage was a good thing and then decided to kill it? That doesn’t even make any sense. 

Anyway, it was Republicans who killed the minimum wage increase by insisting it be tied to a tax cuts for millionaires.

Aside from Rice’s illogical arguments and disingenuous history, she at least has the courage to address the rise of the Republican Party’s “Southern Strategy” – its Nixon-era electoral gambit to gain the support of those voters angered by the Democratic Party’s embrace of the civil rights movement.  Of course, she lies about that too

The 30-year odyssey of the South switching to the Republican Party began in the 1970s with President Richard Nixon's "Southern Strategy," which was an effort on the part of Nixon to get Christians in the South to stop voting for Democrats who did not share their values and were still discriminating against their fellow Christians who happened to be black.

Oh really?  Well, someone ought to tell that to RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman because he apologized for it just last year

"By the '70s and into the '80s and '90s, the Democratic Party solidified its gains in the African American community, and we Republicans did not effectively reach out," Mehlman says in his prepared text. "Some Republicans gave up on winning the African American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here today as the Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong." 

And then they might want to pass the word along to President Bush 

I consider it a tragedy that the party of Abraham Lincoln let go of its historic ties with the African American community. For too long my party wrote off the African American vote, and many African Americans wrote off the Republican Party.

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Scarborough Claims Growing Movement, Shrinking Purse in Missouri Stem Cell Effort

In an e-mail to his supporters, Rick Scarborough of Vision America announces his second rally against a Missouri stem-cell research ballot initiative, to be held in Cape Girardeau, home of commentator and Rush-brother David Limbaugh. His first rally featured Alan Keyes, who compared their effort to protect embryos with African-Americans’ struggle for civil rights. Keyes will again speak at Cape Girardeau.

Our rallies are creating quite a stir in Missouri and increasingly in the national press, as the church is coming together to say in a united voice that cloning human beings for body parts is  unacceptable.

This week we were informed that CNN is sending a crew to cover our rally in St. Louis on September 28.  And this week, we added our fifth rally to be held in Springfield, Missouri, which will be hosted by the historic Central Assembly of God Church in downtown Springfield.  We have now been requested to host two additional rallies, for a total of seven rallies across the state, as the Church is increasingly uniting in this battle for curbing the growing menace of science without God. ...

We are currently finalizing details for Dr. James Dobson and Focus on the Family to partner with us in this effort.  The entire nation will be watching Missouri this fall and Vision America is leading the way for the cause of life!

Scarborough, however, claims that he’s feeling the pinch financially. In a solicitation for donations, he specifically complains that organizations active in electoral politics and legislative advocacy are not given the same benefits as 501(c)3 non-profits, donations to which are tax deductible. “Our battles in Missouri over the human cloning issue is a fresh reminder of how the tax exemption known in the IRS code as a 501c3 status, is crippling the church and muting her historic prophetic role in America,” he writes, threatening that he is “ready to burn our 501c3 if necessary to continue preaching righteousness and applying scripture to the great national debates of our time.” The former pastor writes, “You can help me in this battle by making the largest gift you can, and by doing it without regard to tax exemption. … You will not be able to deduct it, but I am convinced that God will bless you significantly for it.”

While Vision America may have some difficulty drawing specific attention to its Missouri campaign, it seems unlikely that the group is in abject poverty. According to its IRS filing, the group amassed $2.6 million from 2000-2003—and that was before it really established itself on the national scene during the filibuster fight, the formation of the Judeo-Christian Council for Constitution Restoration, and the “Values Voters Contract with Congress,” which was effectively taken up by the Republican leadership this summer.

Scarborough also takes time to boast that his efforts in Missouri have attracted the notice of Internet blogs:

This week I discovered that Vision America was the featured organization on People for the American Way's "Right Wing Watch" website. It seems that with all the money being spent by the left, our shoe string budget counter-offensive is increasingly being viewed as a threat.

Indeed, “Right Wing Watch” is watching Scarborough’s Missouri campaign. In Texas, Scarborough pioneered the strategy of building a network of so-called “Patriot Pastors” that mobilize their congregations to work both for ballot initiatives (like bans on same-sex marriage) and, effectively, on behalf of candidates for office. A new People For the American Way report details the “Patriot Pastor” strategy in Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. With his “pastors’ briefings” and “Patriot Partners” in Missouri, Scarborough may very well be laying the groundwork for yet another “Patriot Pastors” franchise.

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Teachers of Evolution Seek to Destroy "Childhood Joy and Ambition," Says Schlafly

Creationism advocates are furious about the recent loss of an anti-evolution majority on the Kansas school board. Watergate figure and high-profile Religious Right operative Chuck Colson bemoaned the “censorship” of not mandating the instruction of “Intelligent Design” creationism in public schools. Wichita pastor Terry Fox (who quit his church shortly after the election to be a full-time activist against same-sex marriage, abortion, and evolution) called evolution a “cult” and “the mother of all liberalism” and cited the “homosexual agenda[]” and “taking Christ out of Christmas” as related reasons to elect right-wing school board members. Board member Connie Morris, who called evolution a “fairytale” and lost her bid for re-election to a moderate, blamed the “lying liberal media” for her defeat, and Kansas “Intelligent Design” advocate John Calvert complained of a “propaganda” campaign of “systematic misinformation” that Kansas might have trouble competing for science-related business if it maintained a standard of science education opposed by almost all scientific societies.

Now right-wing stalwart Phyllis Schlafly weighs in, claiming that those who take their cues on public-school science curricula from scientists are out to stifle children’s laughter and quash their dreams:

Liberals see the political value to teaching evolution in school, as it makes teachers and children think they are no more special than animals. Childhood joy and ambition can turn into depression as children learn to reject that they were created in the image of God.

Schlafly claims that “The issue in the Kansas controversy was not intelligent design and certainly not creationism,” preferring to refer to “the movement to allow criticism of evolution.” She notes that the Kansas standards point to a non-binding statement that came out of the congressional conference committee negotiating the No Child Left Behind Act that singles out evolution as a “controversy” and calls on schools to teach the “full range of scientific views that exist.”

But as the National Center for Science Education details, the so-called Santorum Amendment – partially designed by “Intelligent Design” advocates as part of a long-term strategy to undermine scientific instruction – was never passed into law.

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Empty Threats

Remember a few months ago when some on the Right, especially James Dobson, were threatening Republicans that there would be negative electoral repercussions unless the GOP worked harder to promote the right-wing agenda?

Some of President Bush's most influential conservative Christian allies are becoming openly critical of the White House and Republicans in Congress, warning that they will withhold their support in the midterm elections unless Congress does more to oppose same-sex marriage, obscenity and abortion. 

 

In the last several weeks, Dr. James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family and one of the most influential Christian conservatives, has publicly accused Republican leaders of betraying the social conservatives who helped elect them in 2004. He has also warned in private meetings with about a dozen of the top Republicans in Washington that he may turn critic this fall unless the party delivers on conservative goals. 

Dr. Dobson, whose daily radio broadcast has millions of listeners, has already signaled his willingness to criticize Republican leaders. In a recent interview with Fox News on the eve of a visit to the White House, he accused Republicans of "just ignoring those that put them in office."

Dr. Dobson cited the House's actions on two measures that passed over the objections of social conservatives: a hate-crime bill that extended protections to gay people, and increased support for embryonic stem cell research.

"There's just very, very little to show for what has happened," Dr. Dobson said, "and I think there's going to be some trouble down the road if they don't get on the ball."

Since then, the Republicans haven’t accomplished much in terms of opposing same-sex marriage, obscenity or abortion – but Dobson seems to have realized the symbiotic nature of his relationship with the GOP and has quietly abandoned his petulant threats

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An Extremely Odd Alliance

The Washington Times has been dogged in its attempts to find out how the Minutemen has handled its finances, as well as investigating the tight alliance it has formed with organizations run by Alan Keyes.  

The Times’ most recent report notes just how intertwined the Minutemen and Keyes have become

Last month, several Minutemen questioned what happened to donations collected since the group's first border vigil in Arizona in April 2005. They said they had no idea how much money had been received, how it had been spent or why it was being routed through a Virginia-based charity headed by conservative activist Alan Keyes. 

 

Last month, Mr. Simcox said $1.6 million in donations had been collected, although he had no documents to verify the claim. He said $1 million went directly to MCDC and $600,000 for a fence on the U.S.-Mexico border, all of it handled through the Herndon-based Declaration Alliance, founded and chaired by Mr. Keyes.    

Mr. Keyes has endorsed the Minuteman organization as programs of Declaration Alliance and the Declaration Foundation, another Virginia-based charitable organization he heads. He also accused critics of being "decidedly racist and anti-Semitic," saying they had been removed as members of the Minuteman organization.    

For a fee, American Caging manages money collected by nonprofit groups, their telemarketers and direct-response agencies. Caging firms give nonprofit organizations the ability to receive and disburse donations without having to hire a staff.   

In addition to MCDC, the firm's clients include Declaration Foundation, Declaration Alliance and the Declaration Alliance Political Action Committee. It also has handled funds for Mr. Keyes' unsuccessful political campaigns, including his failed 2004 senatorial race in Illinois, for which it was paid $30,530.    

American Caging also handles other clients aligned with MCDC, Mr. Keyes and the Alliance organizations, including Diener Consulting Inc., which serves as the Minuteman group's public-relations arm, as it did in Mr. Keyes' unsuccessful presidential and senatorial campaigns; and Renew America, a fundraising organization founded by Mr. Keyes that provides a link for donations to MCDC through Declaration Alliance. 

Other American Caging clients include Response Unlimited, which makes mailing lists -- including the MCDC membership -- available to conservative mailers and telemarketers and has an "exclusive contract" with Declaration Foundation; and RightMarch.com, which raised $500,000 for Mr. Keyes' 2004 senatorial campaign and helps raise Minuteman donations through a link on its Web page to Declaration Alliance.

The Declaration Alliance’s primary mission is to “protect and defend our God-given, inalienable rights, enshrined in principle in the Declaration of Independence, and codified in our Constitution and our Bill of Rights” while the Declaration Foundation is committed to “restoring the principles of the Declaration of Independence to their rightful place in American life.” 

Considering that, among the “abuses and usurpations” set out in the Declaration of Independence was King George III’s attempt to “prevent the population of these States [by] obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners” one has to wonder just how the Minutemen’s harassment and intimidation of immigrants fits into Keyes’ supposed reverence for the document. 

Or, for that matter, how the Minutemen’s belief that immigration will lead to “political, economic and social mayhem” meshes with the Declaration’s most famous principle:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

PFAW

Under the Rubric of Education Rights, Lawsuit Seeks to Undermine Schools

Right-wing activist Clint Bolick is pushing a lawsuit in New Jersey, claiming that schools in cities like Newark are not meeting the state’s constitutional standards for quality education. But instead of demanding that the state improve its public school system, the longtime school voucher advocate wants to force the state to fund private schools with public money—leaving even less resources for struggling schools. PFAW education analyst Kevin Franck has more about Bolick’s strategy in a commentary on EducationNews.org.

PFAW

Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Clashes with Real People's Lives

Less than a month ago, officials in Valley Park, Missouri -- population 6,500 -- were inspired by Hazleton, Pennsylvania's anti-immigrant effort to pass an ordinance of their own.

The mayor, who drives a truck for a local excavation company, was listening to the radio about a month ago and heard a story about a town in Pennsylvania passing a new law. It made English the city's official language. It mandated fines for landlords who rent to illegal immigrants. It punished businesses that hire them.

Good idea, Jeffery Whitteaker remembers thinking.

So the mayor asked the Valley Park city attorney to draft a similar ordinance. The Board of Aldermen passed it unanimously. There was little debate, Whitteaker said. No one showed up to protest. ...

No, Whitteaker admitted, he couldn't point to specific evidence of what the law claimed - that illegal immigration increases crime, overcrowds schools and destroys neighborhoods. At least not in Valley Park, a city of 6,500 where illegal immigration is not the widespread problem it is closer to the border.

But Whitteaker didn't want to wait for a problem to pop up. He calls the law "preventative maintenance."

Now, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, police are going after landlords.

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The Dangers of Relying on the Right For Your News

As we have noted before, right-wing groups around the country are inundating judicial candidates with questionnaires demanding to know their views on everything from the right to choose to marriage equality.    

There has been some debate in Florida about whether it is appropriate for candidates running for seats on local courts to answer these questions since doing so could create the appearance of having pre-judged issues that might come before them should they win election to the bench.

Focus on the Family is reporting that the state’s Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee has decided that judicial candidates can indeed answer such questions

The Florida Supreme Court Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee notified judicial candidates that it's OK to answer questions and express their views to assist voters in making educated choices.

The resolution came in response to an inquiry whether candidates should respond to questionnaires from the Florida Family Policy Council and the Christian Coalition of Florida. 

The six-page decision indicated that "answers do not constitute a promise that the candidate will rule a certain way in a case." 

James Bopp, Jr., counsel for the James Madison Center for Free Speech, said the committee's decision echoes the First Amendment. 

"This is a victory for all involved," he said. "Judicial candidates can exercise their First Amendment right to speak, and voters can make informed decisions about whom to vote for on election day." 

If you were just to have read FOF’s report, you’d have no idea that the Advisory Committee’s decision was actually far more measured  

PFAW

CUFI at the White House

Yesterday, we took issue with a recent Kathleen Parker column in which she attempted to dismiss concerns about the apocalyptic fantasies harbored by people like John Hagee.  According to Parker, Hagee’s desire to see all-out war in the Middle East in order to hasten the Second Coming of Christ poses no real threat because nobody at the White House listens to him. 

But as we noted yesterday, that does not seem to be the case at all. 

If further evidence was needed, The Nation’s Max Blumenthal is now reporting that Hagee’s organization, Christians United for Israel, has been to the White House several times in recent months for off-the-record meetings with Bush Administration officials

Over the past months, the White House has convened a series of off-the-record meetings about its policies in the Middle East with leaders of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a newly formed political organization that tells its members that supporting Israel's expansionist policies is "a biblical imperative." CUFI's Washington lobbyist, David Brog, told me that during the meetings, CUFI representatives pressed White House officials to adopt a more confrontational posture toward Iran, refuse aid to the Palestinians and give Israel a free hand as it ramped up its military conflict with Hezbollah.

The White House instructed Brog not to reveal the names of officials he met with, Brog said.

Brog has revealed several "meet and greet" sessions between CUFI and the Bush Administration that highlight the elevated importance of Christian Zionism in GOP-dominated Washington. At the White House, Brog and CUFI's representatives have professed their support for Israel's military campaign in Lebanon and, in Brog's words, "spoke to the Administration about Iran and the need to prevent arms from going to Iran and Hamas, and the need not to let any US aid go to Hamas."

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Right-Wing Challenge Good, Progressive Challenge Bad

It seems as if the Right just cannot get enough of claiming that Sen. Joe Lieberman’s loss in Connecticut  signals the complete “capture of the Democratic Party by its Taliban wing,” to quote wise-old sage, Cal Thomas.

Just about every right-wing pundit is echoing these White House talking points, claiming that Lieberman’s loss means that Democrats are “firmly opposed to a strong national security policy” and spinning the election result as irrefutable evidence that the Democratic Party has been taken over by its “hate-America Stalinist … left wing,” as Michael Reagan ever-so-subtly puts it. 

The irony here is that while the Right is busy lamenting the fact that the Democratic Party has allegedly fallen prey to Taliban-loving acolytes of Stalin, they are citing moderate Republican Representative Joe Schwarz's primary loss in Michigan at the hands of zealous right-wingers who hate “big government” and immigrants as a triumph for democracy.

Schwarz was taken down by a carefully orchestrated campaign fueled and funded by the virulently anti-immigrant Minutemen, the anti-tax fanatics at the Club for Growth, and other key members of the Religious Right.  Schwarz, an incumbent who had been endorsed by Republican heavyweights such as the NRA, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Sen. John McCain and  even President Bush,  was defeated by the likes of James Dobson and a group of anti-tax and anti-immigration fanatics – and the Right couldn’t be more proud

"Schwarz is a poster child for what has gone wrong with the Republican majorities in Congress. By nominating Tim Walberg, the voters in Michigan's Seventh District sent a loud message to the GOP Congressional leadership about the importance of turning away from their big government ways of recent years [said John Berthoud, president of the National Taxpayers Union]. 

 

Chris Simcox, honorary chairman of Minuteman PAC, said Michigan has sent Washington a "piercing message that voters are fed up with coddling illegal aliens." 

Simcox said Schwarz can blame his "overwhelming defeat" on his support for Spanish-language ballots, government benefits for illegal aliens, President Bush's "amnesty proposal," and allowing towns to become sanctuaries for illegal aliens.  

Nothing sums up this double standard better than this “Washington Update” from the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins in which he states that Lieberman’s loss is proof that “the left has always been better at promoting bigotry and hatred” whereas Schwarz lost simply because “he turned his back on issues of life and marriage”  leading to a defeat that ought to serve as “a wake-up call to the GOP.” 

PFAW

Freelance Anti-Immigrant Sheriff in Ohio Creates Fear, Undermines Police Work

New billboards in Butler County proclaim Sheriff Jones' new focus on business who hire undocumented Butler County, Ohio Sheriff Richard K. Jones has been running his own personal campaign against undocumented immigrants. He’s taken out newspaper ads, he put up six billboards in the area with his personage warning “Hire an Illegal—Break the Law!” and he even started his own blog on the web site of the sheriff’s office to organize a boycott of businesses that hire undocumented immigrants.

And a few weeks ago, his office arrested 18 Hispanic construction workers without charge, only to release them when federal immigration officials declined to investigate.

While Jones does not have the authority to enforce federal immigration violations – he would prefer that they be felonies – he has created a sense of fear in the Hispanic community of Butler County, which is part of House Majority Leader John Boehner (R)’s congressional district. As NPR reports:

The police cars that cruise by Little Mexico aren't from Sheriff Jones' office but from the city of Hamilton, whose police force is trying to improve relations with the Hispanic community. But that effort seems undermined by Jones' campaign against illegal immigrants.

Lourdes de Leon, co-owner of Taqueria Mercado, says friendly police officers used to be regulars at her Mexican restaurant, in part to make the community more comfortable with them. But she recently asked them to stop coming. Their presence was scaring customers away.

Today, if a crime happened, de Leon is sure most Hispanics would be too scared to call the police. Even without officers around, she points to plenty of empty tables. Over the past month or so, business is down by more than one-third, she says.

De Leon is a U.S. citizen, but she understands her customers' fears.

"Me myself, you know, I'm afraid," de Leon says. She worries the sheriff might target her business "even if I'm doing nothing wrong."

Jones and Bay Buchanan

Sheriff Jones receiving an “American Patriot” award from Bay Buchanan, chair of Rep. Tom Tancredo’s anti-immigrant Team America PAC.

PFAW

Robertson Again Claims Misquoted on Sharon Comment

In January, when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a debilitating stroke, Pat Robertson said that it was a result of God’s “enmity against those who ‘divide my land,’” referring to Sharon’s withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. PFAW has documented Robertson’s comments and his attempts to dodge or deny them.

Yet Robertson continues to garner media attention and wield political clout. Today, CNN aired an interview with Robertson in Jerusalem, where he met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Once again, Robertson denied suggesting that God was punishing Sharon.

Wolf Blitzer interviews Robertson

I was misquoted, Wolf. It happens, and you don’t have a chance to call it all back. If you read the tape, the transcript of what I actually said, I talked about my love for this man. I prayed with him, I met with him on a number of occasions. He had a luncheon here for me in my honor. And I was just pointing out what the prophet Joel had to say about this being God’s land, and God looks at it very seriously. And I said, woe unto those who would, under the pressure of the United States, er, the United Nations would give up God’s land. But I didn’t say this was God’s judgment on this man that I was very fond of. I was misquoted.

Watch the video from CNN today: Broadband or Dial-Up.

What Robertson actually said on his own “700 Club” TV show on January 5:

Sharon was personally a very likeable person and I am sad to see him in this condition. But I think we need to look at the Bible and the book of Joel. The prophet Joel makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who “divide my land.” God considers this land to be His . . . Now Ariel Sharon who again was a very likeable person, a delightful person to be with, I prayed with him personally, but here he’s at the point of death. He was dividing God’s land and I would say woe unto any Prime Minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU, the United Nations, or the United States of America. God says “this land belongs to me. You’d better leave it alone.”

Watch the video and decide for yourself whether Robertson was misquoted: Broadband
or Dial-Up

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Ten Commandments Judge Ready to Take It to the Next Level?

In his 1963 letter from the jailhouse in Birmingham, Alabama, Martin Luther King, Jr. defended civil disobedience in the struggle to end racial segregation. In a bizarre twist, the strategy was taken up 40 years later by the highest legal authority in that state, Roy Moore, the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court who was ejected from office for defying a federal court order, and the demands of his eight colleagues, to remove a two-ton granite monument of the Ten Commandments from his courthouse. Moore has since made a career out of his stand against the First Amendment prohibition against government endorsement of religion—he’s gone on tour with the monument, he wrote a book, and he even ran for governor.

Now, it seems Moore is ready to take the leap from nonviolent civil disobedience to “drastic action,” whatever that means. Moore writes on WorldNetDaily.com:

For the sake of the country, drastic action must be taken to defend our right to acknowledge God because, as Ronald Reagan once observed, "If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."

Moore is making us wait until next week’s column to learn his definition of “drastic action.”

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Fighting a Straw Man, and Losing

There is just so much to say about this recent Kathleen Parker column that it is difficult to know exactly where to start.  

Parker begins by dismissing concerns regarding the influence wielded by “Christianists” such as Jerry Falwell and John Hagee because … well … they aren’t as bad as Islamic terrorists

Although both groups may be "true believers," those who try to connect the dots of Christian belief, specifically evangelical Christianity, to Islamism seem willing to overlook the fact that Islamists praise Allah and fly airplanes into buildings while Christianists praise Jesus and pass the mustard.

 And though both groups of people may use scripture to shape their approach to the public square, Islamist interpretation of doctrine permits religious expression through suicide-murder, beheadings, public stonings (preferably of women) and Jew-hating, while Christianist doctrine deals in such wimpy notions as forgiveness, tolerance, redemption and cheek-turning.

Parker is confusing her terms.  Forgiveness and cheek-turning are Christian teachings – but Christianists refers not to all Christians, just to those who are part of a political movement that seeks to use government power to impose their religious beliefs.  Similarly, not all Muslims are Islamists -- those who want to use government power to impose their religious beliefs.  And not all Islamists resort to terrorism.

Parker’s setting up a straw man here – nobody is really equating Falwell with terrorist leaders.  And just because Christianist leaders aren’t recruiting suicide bombers doesn’t mean they’re harmless, or their political goals aren’t dangerous.

Parker goes on to note that Hagee is a vocal proponent of a joint US-Israel strike on Iran in order to bring about Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ.   But Parker doesn’t see this as much a problem because nobody takes him seriously - least of all the White House

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This Is Not a Joke

Unfortunately

America's Patriotic Salsa

Minuteman Salsa is proud to be America’s 100% US-born and bred Southwestern salsa.

You don’t support illegal immigration. Buy Minuteman Salsa and keep foreign-made salsa from slipping across the border into your pantry.

A portion of the proceeds of every sale of Minuteman Salsa will benefit the courageous men and women of the Minuteman Project, guarding America’s borders.

Deport Bad Taste, Buy Minuteman SalsaTM

According to The El-Paso Times, 25 percent of the earnings go to the Minutemen and the genius behind this product

[H]as already sold 700 jars of Minuteman Salsa, including 25 to 30 he shipped to the El Paso area. The condiment sells for $4.95 a jar with a minimum order of three.

700 jars at $4.95 a piece = $3,465, meaning the Minutemen have cleared approximately $865.  

No doubt they’ll handle this money responsibly.

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Senate Republicans "putting their majority at risk"

By not ramming through enough judges, says Manuel Miranda.

PFAW

Politics Driving Immigration Hearings

According to retiring GOP congressman and others.

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WSJ Dubious of House Immigration Hearings

Sounds “like a Lou Dobbs ratings ploy.” (sub. only)

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Fox News "Nativists" Are "Hilariously Wrong"

About white decline, writes Reason’s Weigel.

PFAW

Local Police Should Deport Suspects

Proposes California sheriff.

PFAW

Colorado Christian Coalition Attacks State Senator

The same day that it apologized for a previous false attack.

PFAW

Far Right Groups Wage Primary War

Against NRA-, Bush-backed congressman.

PFAW

Watergate Felon Colson Lashes Out Against Kansas Voters

Who are “censoring” dubious “Intelligent Design” creationism in schools.

PFAW

Right Calls on Teachers to Leave NEA

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Missouri "Patriot Pastors" To Fight "Campaign of Lies and Deceptions" with Lies and Deceptions?

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that opponents of a Missouri stem-cell research ballot initiative are distributing misleading brochures that purport to enlist the support of women’s health advocates.

Brochures mailed in recent weeks to more than 90,000 Missouri homes argue that research protected by the ballot measure would exploit women, luring them into the potentially dangerous practice of egg donation. …

"I can't remember the last time radical feminists lined up with me," said the Rev. Rick Scarborough, a Southern Baptist preacher who heads Vision America, a national group campaigning against the stem cell measure. …

But supporters of the stem cell measure don't like the joke. They say religious conservatives are exaggerating feminist concerns about stem cell research. The Missouri measure addresses those concerns, they say, spelling out protections for women who donate eggs.

PFAW

D. James Kennedy Needs Your Help

D. James Kennedy continues his crusade against the theory of evolution and he needs your financial support so that he can explain to the world how Charles Darwin was responsible for the Holocaust and pretty much every other horrible thing that has ever happened.

Watch the Video: Broadband or Dial-Up

I’ve asked my television staff to produce a brand-new documentary that explores not just the theory of evolution but also the vast and devastating consequences of that theory.  I don’t think most people realize the horrific events that have stemmed from evolution: everything from the Nazi death camps and attempts to create a super-race to the modern push in many nations for euthanasia. The tentacles of evolution reach far and wide and I intend to demonstrate these chilling facts in this brand-new documentary, but I’m going to need your help to pull it off.  

The other side has the entire public school system of America as its platform, but we have the national network of television outlets that God has given to us.  Let’s put them to good use. 

If you believe evolution is just a harmless theory of origins … you’ll discover how Darwin’s so-called “tree of life” has brought death to millions – yes, millions – of people and that is no exaggeration my friends.

The entire program appears as if it will be based on the book “Evolution's Fatal Fruit” which just so happens to have been written by Tom DeRosa, executive director and founder of the