Maine

It was just last week that we reported that following the departure of Mike Heath from the Maine Family Policy Council, the organization had announced a new interim president and executive director who had as his mission undoing all of the embarrassment Heath had caused the organization with his ridiculous statements.

Well, that is going to be kind of hard if, as Jeremy notes, the organization keep writing things like this about how "Immorality is Worse than BP Oil Spill":

Those who viewed the environmental damage — Christians and non-believers alike — called the damage “apocalyptic.” Our culture is awash in a flood of impurity of another kind, and that is the loosening of the rules intended to conserve and perpetuate life.

The shining whiteness of the bridal gown, symbolizing purity and the power that purity conveys, has been stained — or smudged, if you will — by pornography, sex before marriage, marital infidelity, divorce, abortion and, now, so-called marriages between people of the same sex.

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We here in Maine have been spared the effects of many recent natural or man-made calamities. But we should not allow our presumed immunity from disaster to divert our attention from the many moral problems that confront us. If these problems are not cured, they will prove worse than any catastrophic oil spill.

We count among these problems the indecent march in Farmington, the increasing number of so-called Gentlemen’s Clubs, the dangerous disrespect for women in the media and the incessant attacks on the natural family by government and advocates of same-sex marriage.

All these are violations of natural law, and as result, poison the life of society at its root. Much good can come of the oil spill in the Gulf, if the natural calamity reminds us to restore purity and innocence to America. Those in positions of authority, especially those who instruct the next generation, must work to preserve morality and right order in society.

They must stop justifying harmful and immoral actions by a specious appeal to freedom. If they do not, our continued existence as a nation will be imperiled, just as surely as the growing tide of oil imperils life in the Gulf.

Given that Mike Heath of the American Family Association of Maine has made a career out of attacking gays and claiming that marriage equality causes graffiti, vandalism, and crop failure, you'll have to forgive me if I don't buy the "can't we all just get along" vibe of this op-ed he published in the Portland Press Herald, especially considering that buried beneath his lament for our national "memory loss" is a not-so-subtle longing for the good ol' days when right-wing Christian values dominated and before gays got all uppity and started demanding equality: 

Memory loss has dire consequences for nations as well. Long gone is America's sense of unity and purpose. A society that inherited the maxim "In unity is strength" is now told that diversity is the preeminent goal of its civilization.

The words "union" and "united" once inspired men from Maine to fight on the battlefields of Gettysburg and Bull Run. Today the word "union" calls to mind something vastly different.

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A loss of historical memory results in a confusion in values. An appeal to diversity manifests itself in the political realm as a proliferation of competing and contradictory ideas. Moral relativism undermines the values the West has held for centuries. Post-modernism takes an even more extreme position, and denies the possibility that any truth can exist at all.

Certain outcomes are predictable for such a divided and confused society. The inability to share a common frame of reference impairs communication among groups. Where communication fails, there is opposition.

And where there is opposition, citizens will impute the wrong motives to political opponents. Extreme skepticism in the realm of politics turns out to be a very poor substitute for Christianity, charity and shared national values.

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The task that lies before us is to unite all our people -- be they left or right, Republican or Democrat -- on the basis of shared ethical values ... We can indeed have a civilization which promotes community over self-interest, respect for ethical values over unbridled greed, health over indulgence, beauty over chaos. The day will come when America is once again renowned for its houses of worship, its common values, its communal festivals, its respect for women and family!

Unity will be restored; and the spirit of lawlessness and rebellion will be forgotten -- a storm in the night, followed by a clear, bright morning.

It is well-said that a society that obeys God's laws comes to look like heaven. This, I predict, will be the future of America, and it is the goal toward which we must all strive.

It was just a few weeks ago that we were noting that Mike Heath, formerly of the Maine Family Policy Council, had suddenly reappeared on the scene as the head of the American Family Association's affiliate in Maine.

During the fight over marriage in Maine, Heath had repeatedly embarrassed the right-wing effort by claiming that gay marriage leads to things like graffiti, vandalism, and crop failure and eventually found himself cast aside by the movement entirely.  As a result, he resigned his position as the head of the Maine Family Policy Council, announcing that it was time for him to do something else with his life and declaring that he was going to get involved in the manufacture and distribution of solar cookers in Africa.

Then he disappeared for several month, only to reemerge in March, leading the state's AFA affiliate.

And now, via Pam's House Blend, we see that Heath has even bigger plans: 

Michael Heath, former executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, has registered with the state ethics commission as a gubernatorial candidate.

Heath, a resident of China, is listed as an unenrolled candidate, which means he has until June 1 to get at least 4,000 signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

Heath recently announced the formation of a group called the American Family Association of Maine. At the time, he said he was "re-entering public life to continue the fight against the gay-rights lobby."

Heath spent 15 years working for the Christian Civic League, and became its executive director in 1994. He twice led people's veto efforts to overturn gay-rights laws.

Heath was not a visible part of last year's fight over same-sex marriage, which ended with voters repealing a state law legalizing it. He announced his resignation in September from the civic league, which is now called the Maine Family Policy Council.

There are now 24 people running for governor. Of those, 12 are Democrats or Republicans who will compete in the June 8 primary for the right to represent their parties on the November ballot. For the other 12, June 1 is the deadline to determine who among them will qualify to compete in November.

The newly mustache-less Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission has taken up the case of Larry Grard, who claims he lost his job due to anti-Christian bigotry (though that is disputed by his former employer,) and immediately needs $5,000 to launch a campaign to get Grard his job back, according to a recent CADC email alert:

Radical homosexual activists are not playing games. They will destroy anyone that comes between them and their agenda. But the time has come for Christians to fight back and support those who courageously take a stand for righteousness.

Help us defend Christians like Larry from the attacks of radical homosexual activists. Click below to donate!

Please help me fight and win this battle. Maine Today must reinstate Larry and Lisa. We must defend Larry's right to free speech and his right to express his religious point of view. It is vital that we not neglect our wounded in the battle for the soul of America.

Help CADC stand up for Larry. I need at least $5,000.00 by February 15th to cover all the expenses of this campaign. Can you please help?

Imagine what it would be like to have your career unjustly destroyed at age 59 after 19 years of hard work for simply defending God's institution of marriage. Wouldn't you want someone to help fight to get your job back?

Let's be there for Larry and his family! Please send you best gift today!

We must expose the unfruitful deeds of wickedness! (Eph. 5:11)

Here's how:

First, we need to let Maine Today know that Christians will not stand by while our brother and sister are unjustly defamed, discriminated against, and persecuted for merely expressing their support of biblical family values.

We will demand that the newspaper re-instate Larry and his wife and reimburse them for all their unpaid wages. If they will not, I will encourage other pro-family leaders to join me in this stand for Larry. It's the least we can do for someone who stood up for what's right.

In addition, if Maine Today refuses to do the right thing, we will contact their advertisers. We will let them know that we intend to work with local churches to organize a boycott against any business that continues to support Maine Today with their advertising dollars (a strategy we have used successfully in other communities).

Maine Today caved into pressure from homosexual activists and fired Larry and Lisa. Now it's time for them to correct their persecution of this couple. If they refuse, we will make sure they don't get rewarded with adverting from local businesses. I assure you ... that will get their attention.

It's time to draw a line in the sand. We cannot allow radical homosexual activists to continue to destroy people who stand against their ungodly agenda. If we don't stop them now, it won't be long before no one will be able to resist them.