Posts on American Family Association

It looks like the Religious Right will have a new enemy to fight in their annual “war on Christmas” now that the American Humanist Association has announced its new ad campaign:

"Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake," proclaims a new holiday ad from the American Humanist Association. Already appearing today in the New York Times and Washington Post, the message will soon be blazoned on the sides, taillights, and interiors of over 200 Washington DC Metro buses.

It's the first ad campaign of its kind in the United States, and the American Humanist Association predicts it will raise public awareness of humanism as well as controversy over humanist ideas.

Needless to say, right-wing leaders and activists have already swung into action to warn unsuspecting Americans of the dangers of this new advertising campaign:

Peter Sprigg, vice president of policy at the conservative Family Research Council (FRC), told CNSNews.com that sustainable morality is grounded in a belief in a higher being.

“I don’t think it’s possible to sustain long-term morality without religion,” Sprigg said. “If there is no higher being obliging humans to act morally and ethically, why should we do it?”

Sprigg emphasized he thinks that atheists can act morally, but he also said that society would shift towards greed and selfishness without a belief in a higher power.

And you just knew that Bill Donohue was going to have something to say about it:

Codes of morality, of course, have always been grounded in religion. For those of us in Western civilization, its tenets emanate from the Judeo-Christian ethos. By casting this heritage aside, and replacing it with nothing more than the conscience of lone individuals, we lay the groundwork for moral anarchy. And that is because there is nothing that cannot be justified if the only moral benchmark is what men and women posit to be right and wrong. Indeed, every monster in history has followed his conscience.

The danger is so great in fact that even the moribund Christian Coalition was obligated to speak out against this effort to “ban Christmas and God from the public square,” saying the AHA “has an elitist contempt for Americans believing in God” and urging their “millions of supporters to call the city of Washington, DC and Congress to stop this un-Godly campaign." Even Mat Staver weighed in to call the campaign "insulting" while American Family Association president Tim Wildmon called it "stupid."

We had mentioned a group called In God We Trust once before when they inexplicably demanded that Barack Obama publicly denounce a series of “Imagine No Religion” billboards that the Freedom From Religion Foundation had placed around the country … and so it is no surprise that they would weigh in on this latest affront and do so by attempting to link the AHA to the Right’s most-hated nemesis – the United Nations:

"These ads are a deliberate attack on American traditions, beliefs and customs by a United Nation's affiliated group that espouses a radical anti-American agenda and is funded by an zealot who believes that the U.S. is a backwards nation full of imbeciles," says In God We Trust Chairman Council Nedd.

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"This ad campaign is yet another attempt by America-hating snobs to mock and attack our nation's traditions and culture" says Nedd. "The AHA is not some harmless little atheist group. These people hate America and they are working with our nation's enemies to attack our heritage."

It should shock nobody to learn that Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan and early Mike Huckabee supporter, is not particularly gay-friendly and so it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that he would be targeting openly gay candidates in his state:

An activist who opposes gay marriage and same-sex benefits for public employees is trying to raise sexual orientation as an issue in a state House race.

Gary Glenn sent an e-mail Friday to supporters and the media targeting openly gay Democrat Garnet Lewis. Glenn wrote that Lewis is a "homosexual activist with an extremely liberal agenda" not representative of voters in the 98th district, which covers parts of Saginaw and Midland counties.

The e-mail notes Lewis has been endorsed by Michigan Equality, Triangle Pride and other gay rights groups.

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Lewis said she's been open about her sexual orientation, which was mentioned in some media reports as early as this summer. But she said she was disappointed that Glenn would try to make it a campaign issue because it's "old news."

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Glenn was a major backer of the successful 2004 campaign to define marriage as between one man and one woman in the Michigan Constitution. He lives in Midland County and is president of the American Family Association of Michigan and chairman of the Campaign for Michigan Families political action committee.

But it looks like you don’t even have to be gay to be the target of Glenn’s ire - all you need really is to have been in some way associated with a gay rights group:

As the November election approaches, a group claiming to promote Michigan families is renewing a campaign that attacks an Allegan County judge for his ties to homosexual groups.

The Campaign for Michigan Families, a political action committee, plans to run 60-second radio spots on Judge William Baillargeon's background. The spots are to air on five West Michigan radio stations.

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The radio campaign attacking Baillargeon comes after the Campaign for Michigan Families, chaired by Gary Glenn of the American Family Association of Michigan, sponsored a round of recorded phone calls to voters about Baillargeon before the August primary.

The robo-calls featured essentially the same message as the radio ads, touting Baillargeon's past service on the board of advisers for the Detroit-based Triangle Foundation, which serves the gay and lesbian community, and asking voters if Baillargeon can be trusted to uphold "our values, given his background."

Baillargeon says that his relationship to the Triangle Foundation “was limited to having his name placed on a ‘resource list’ so that the group could refer legal questions to him,” but apparently that was enough to get Glenn to question “his values” and seek his defeat.

Does anyone else get the sense that the Religious Right is starting to get a bit terrified about what the election has in store for them and their agenda?

Please vote! Our children's future depends on it!

In my 70 years, I have never seen an election where coverage was so one-sided and biased or where censorship by the liberal media was so widely practiced and where media coverage was so slanted as I have seen in this election process. Their plan is working. The only chance conservatives have is to make sure they care enough to vote.

If the liberals win the upcoming election, America as we have known it will no longer exist. This country that we love, founded on Judeo-Christian values, will cease to exist and will be replaced by a secular state hostile to Christianity. This “city set on a hill” which our forefathers founded, will go dark. The damage will be deep and long lasting. It cannot be turned around in the next election, or the one after that, or by any election in the future. The damage will be permanent. That is why it is so important for you to vote and to encourage friends and family to vote. This is one election where your vote really counts.

The American Family Association’s One News Now is a “news” service in the same way that Fox is “fair and balanced.”  Remember, One News Now is the outfit that published stories about “Tyson Homosexual” because they were so opposed to using the word “gay.”  ONN’s “Daily News Briefs” have become a one-stop shop of wing-nuttery. Today it was also a victim of bad timing

It is just me or is the bogus "War on Christmas" starting earlier every year? 

Here it is, not even Halloween yet, and the American Family Association is already trotting out its "help us save Christmas" merchandise:

It's hard to believe that there are companies and individuals who want to ban "Merry Christmas" and replace it with "Holiday Greetings" because, they say, they don't want to offend anyone.

Christians can take a stand and proclaim to our communities that Christmas is not just a winter holiday focused on materialism, but a "holy day" when we celebrate the birth of our Savior. We can do it in a gentle and effective way by wearing the “It’s OK to say Merry Christmas” button.

You can help preserve our tradition of greeting others with a “Merry Christmas” by taking a vital leadership role in AFA’s "Project Merry Christmas."

Here's how. AFA is making available an attractive button and Glossy Sticker that carry on our tradition of saying “It's OK to say Merry Christmas."

Purchase enough buttons for each member of your church and enough Glossy Stickers for each family to have one to go on their automobile. Urge your fellow members to wear their buttons and display the Glossy Stickers during the entire Christmas season.

The American Family Association announces an end to its boycott of McDonald's, proclaiming itself victorious: 

McDonald's has told AFA they will remain neutral in the culture war regarding homosexual marriage. AFA is ending the boycott of McDonald's. As you know, AFA called for the boycott in May after McDonald's joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).

McDonald's said McDonald's Vice President Richard Ellis has resigned his position on the board of NGLCC and that his seat on the board will not be replaced. McDonald's also said that the company has no plans to renew their membership in NGLCC when it expires in December.

In an e-mail to McDonald's franchised owners the company said, "It is our policy to not be involved in political and social issues. McDonald's remains neutral on same sex marriage or any 'homosexual agenda' as defined by the American Family Association."

We appreciate the decision by McDonald's to no longer support political activity by homosexual activist organizations. You might want to thank your local McDonald's manager.

They can start by thanking the manager of the local McDonald's in Louisville, KY.

The American Family Association has unveiled a new, half-hour video on the necessity of passing the Proposition 8 marriage amendment in California. Featuring people like Chuck Colson, Hadley Arkes, and Ron Prentice, Chairman of the "Yes on 8" effort, along with various representatives of right-wing groups like the Pacific Justice Institute and the California Family Council - along with lots and lots of footage of gays and lesbians getting married and showing affection - the video explains the various ways in which failure to pass Prop. 8 will destroy America.

As they say, straight, married sex is "unique" because the two are designed to "fit together, like pieces of a puzzle" and the best that gay couples can do is imitate it. But Bridget Melson raises an even more ominous point: if gays and lesbians can get married, who's going to teach the children of the future how to change the oil?

And on and on it goes, until Colson finally declares that failure to stop the "gay-marriage juggernaut ... is Armageddon" and the end to freedom of religion, after which the others call upon pastors and activists to get involved in the fight to pass Prop. 8 or risk losing their right to spread the Gospel:

The creative geniuses at the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow still haven't learned their lesson. The right-wing site was roundly ridiculed last month after we reported that the site was automatically replacing every instance of the word "gay" with "homosexual" in the Associated Press stories that it syndicates. As a result, they ran numerous stories like this one about track star Tyson Gay: "Homosexual breaks Greene's US record in 100 at trials."

And they're still at it. The folks at Queerty noticed some less-than-subtle edits in today's AP story on Hallmark's decision to carry same-sex wedding cards.

The headline – Now on Hallmark Aisle: Gay Marriage Cards – was changed to this: Hallmark embraces homosexual ‘marriage.’

And the lede went from “Most states don't recognize gay marriage” to “Most states don't recognize same-sex ‘marriage.’”

The scare quotes around marriage are a great touch, but we’re surprised that OneNewsNow passed up the opportunity to replace “same-sex” with “homosexual,” as they did later in the story. This can only mean one thing – the OneNewsNow summer interns have headed back to Virginia Beach to resume their formal education at Pat Robertson University.

For most of the election season, the Right has been anything but energized about supporting John McCain.  That had started to change in recent weeks, as their fear of a Barack Obama presidency began to overpower their principles and they initiated efforts to mobilize on his behalf.  At least until McCain suggested that he was open to the idea of naming a pro-choice running mate, at which point the Right began to freak out and, as World Magazine reports, the massive mobilization efforts they had planned came to a screeching halt:

[Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values] said McCain appeared sincere and serious about his pro-life and pro-marriage views. After the June meeting, Burress was poised to deliver for McCain in Ohio: With nearly 1 million contacts in the CCV database, Burress began planning mailings that would tout McCain’s pro-life position.

Burress told WORLD he was also in talks with other Christian groups to send material to their state mailing lists: 100,000 contacts from Focus on the Family, 100,000 from the American Family Association, and some 50,000 from the Family Research Council, according to Burress.

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Then came August 13: When Burress heard McCain’s comments about the possibility of a pro-abortion running mate, the grassroots gears screeched to a halt. “The train has stopped in its tracks,” Burress told WORLD.

Until McCain announces his running mate, Burress says all plans for grassroots activities are on hold. Political observers say McCain will likely announce his running mate next Friday— the day after Obama delivers his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.

Burress and other social conservatives remain hopeful that McCain will pick a pro-life candidate, and Burress says he’s confident that evangelicals in Ohio would enthusiastically support him if he does. If he doesn’t? “It will feel like a kick in the stomach,” said Burress. “And you don’t feel like working very hard when you’ve been kicked in the stomach.”

The virulently anti-gay American Family Association generates buzz and media attention year after year by launching outlandish boycott campaigns – McDonald’s is the latest target. It also doesn’t hurt that their flamboyant founder and chairman, Don Wildmon, more than lives up to his name.

PR is the lifeblood of a group like AFA, so you might think that they’d be thrilled when a longtime supporter of the group rocketed to the top of the media charts. Maybe so, but not when that supporter happens to be the FBI’s only suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks – Bruce Ivins.

Indeed, the nation learned today that Ivins and his wife – who served as president of a local anti-abortion group – were strongly committed to the AFA:

Donations were made to AFA in the name of Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Ivins 11 times between 1993 and 1997. Another donation by the couple was recorded one month after an article about the Greendale incident appeared in the AFA Journal. The Ivins subscribed to the Journal until March 2005.

Hal Lindsey, best known as the author of "Late Great Planet Earth” once speculated that “the decade of the 1980's could very well be the last decade of history as we know it.”  Yet here we are, twenty years later so it’s not as if Lindsey has a particularly good record on making predictions.  Yet that isn’t stopping him from warning that with Barack Obama running for president and generating excitement in places like Berlin, Germany, it can only mean one thing: the Anti-Christ is coming

America has never faced so many different crises at the same time in living memory. The war with al-Qaida and Islamic terror, the Iran crisis, Afghanistan, nuclear proliferation, the rising price of oil, the falling dollar, enemy acronyms like OPEC, NAM, OIC, U.N. ... Obama is correct in saying that the world is ready for someone like him – a messiah-like figure, charismatic and glib and seemingly holding all the answers to all the world's questions.

And the Bible says that such a leader will soon make his appearance on the scene. It won't be Barack Obama, but Obama's world tour provided a foretaste of the reception he can expect to receive.

He will probably also stand in some European capital, addressing the people of the world and telling them that he is the one that they have been waiting for. And he can expect as wildly enthusiastic a greeting as Obama got in Berlin.

The Bible calls that leader the Antichrist. And it seems apparent that the world is now ready to make his acquaintance.

The idea that Obama may not be the actual Anti-Christ but sure has a lot in common with him seems to be spreading among right-wing activists, as Sarah Poser recently reported:

On Friday, the day after Obama's Berlin speech, the AFA Report's host, Fred Jackson, made note of the "messianic tone" of the speech, then quickly denied that he believes Obama is messianic. Ed Vitagliano, one of the program's roundtable guests, chimed in, "I don't think he's the Antichrist, but there is a spirit of Antichrist at work in the West in a very strong and open way that is leading people to want to solve their problems and have a desire to have their lives improved without Christ. That's what the spirit of Antichrist does, it denies Christ." In other words, Obama's not the Antichrist. He's just like the Antichrist.

But apparently John McCain’s campaign hasn’t yet gotten on board with the messaging, since they just released their latest typically informative, fact-based, and classy ad suggesting instead that Obama sees himself as the Messiah:

CNSNews reports that the American Family Association has donated 500,000 to the Proposition 8 effort in California: "The American Family Association said the $500,000 donation comes from 'years of savings.' In a message to supporters, AFA acknowledged its 'obligation to be good stewards of the gifts given to this ministry. We don’t buy anything on credit. We have no debt. We are careful to make sure your gifts are used wisely. We are very frugal with your gifts.' AFA said it has put aside money over the years so it would have the funds to meet whatever need might arise. The $500,000 for ProtectMarriage.com came from those savings, it said."

From Sarah Posner's most recent FundamentaList: "On Friday, the day after Obama's Berlin speech, the AFA Report's host, Fred Jackson, made note of the 'messianic tone' of the speech, then quickly denied that he believes Obama is messianic. Ed Vitagliano, one of the program's roundtable guests, chimed in, 'I don't think he's the Antichrist, but there is a spirit of Antichrist at work in the West in a very strong and open way that is leading people to want to solve their problems and have a desire to have their lives improved without Christ. That's what the spirit of Antichrist does, it denies Christ.'"

The Grand Rapids Press reports that the American Family Association of Michigan has begun running ads against Allegan County Circuit Judge William Baillargeon saying he has a "long history of involvement with homosexual activist groups that promote so-called homosexual 'marriage' and other radical elements of the homosexual agenda." The ads are scheduled to run through the Aug. 5 primary - which isn't particularly effective considering that Baillargeon's Circuit Court race isn't until November.

In addition to blocking traffic from websites they don’t like, it looks like the web-geniuses behind the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow site have a few other tricks up their sleeves, such as automatically replacing any use of the word “gay” with the word “homosexual” in any of the AP stories they run … leading to instances in which proper names are reformatted to meet their ridiculous standard, such as this article about sprinter Tyson Gay winning the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in which he is renamed “Tyson Homosexual”:

Though AFA has since corrected its article, it looks like this auto-replace feature has been embarrassing them for quite some time now:

And while they may have fixed this particular instance, it looks like they haven't gone back through their archives and corrected other articles where this happened, such as this article where professional basketball player Rudy Gay is referred to as "Rudy Homosexual."