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LifeNews reports. Let’s hope this speaker can convince this
influential organization to respect the sanctity of unborn human life.
CitizenLink warns us
of this serious and dangerous issue.
Hate crimes legislation is misguided and a very real threat to religious
freedom and “equal justice under law.”
Mary E. Traeger explains
in the Metro Voice. Excerpt:
It is evident the cloners have won the day.
They have again used the court system to stop efforts to ban human cloning in
Missouri. Even though the judges would uphold Judge Joyce's new ballot language
there is not enough time now to gather the needed 150,000 petition signatures
by the 5 p.m., May 4, 2008, deadline. Again the will of the people of Missouri,
the majority of whom do not support human embryonic cloning, is mocked by
ambitious politicians and judicial charades.
At the same time this charade of justice
was playing out in Missouri, a renowned international scientist admitted to the
public that human embryonic stem cell research hasn't been successful. Of
course, this is not news to pro-life proponents, but it is quite an
acknowledgment for a well-accepted embryonic cloning researcher to admit. On
April 8, 2008, the chairman of the UK National Stem Cell Network, Lord Patel of
Dunkeld admitted in a "Scotsman" newspaper interview that this
controversial science may never deliver new treatments for diseases. He
explained, "In terms of embryonic stem cell therapy, there is currently no
such therapy that is available in a large number of patients. We have to be
cautious. It may not deliver therapy for anything. We may find that stem
therapy is quite a risky business." (LifeNews.Com, April 8, 2008) …
Bioethics conservative watchdog Wesley J.
Smith sums it up well in his statement, "By hyping the potential, the
politicized science sector misled people to win a political debate, and in the
process reduced science to just another special interest spinning and
obfuscating to get a greater share of gruel in the public trough."
It is regrettable that the State of
Missouri is also tied up to that public embryonic stem cell trough along with
the State of California which is facing a $16 billion dollar deficit.
The
fight against human cloning in Missouri will continue and you can find out more
about it at MOCuresWithoutCloning.com.
By Daniel Herbster
 I recently corresponded with Bryan Wickens, president of Reclaim Our Culture Kentuckiana (ROCK), and asked him about the work he does fighting sexually oriented businesses and protecting families. Visit reclaimourculture.org for more information. Below is my interview with Bryan.
DH: Bryan, thanks for taking the time to tell our readers about your work in the culture war fighting against pornography and for families in Kentuckiana. First of all, for our readers who may not be familiar with the term, what is Kentuckiana, and how much area does it contain? Is it basically the greater Louisville area?
BW: Thanks, Daniel. Kentuckiana usually means central Kentucky up to central Indiana and that is definitely where ROCK’s focus began. During the past couple of years, however, as we have expanded our reach and been invited to join in on national initiatives and projects, we are recognized now as ROCK and have interests in projects across the country. Since our staff lives in the Kentuckiana region, we will of course always have the communities that ROCK was born out of at the heart of anything we do. But it is imperative to us that we not confine our work to one geographic circle in that the issues we face today are certainly not confined to one geographic circle.
DH: How did ROCK get started, and how long has it been operating?
BW: ROCK was created in March 2004 in response to a series of articles reporting on the unrestrained growth of sex business in the Kentuckiana area and their related negative effects on the community. As a result, a group of citizens, concerned about the state of affairs of our culture came together to form ROCK. This group simply said “enough is enough” and decided to do something, to get off the sidelines – to change Kentuckiana for the better.
 I was asked to sit on the board of ROCK in 2004 which, at the time, was an all volunteer organization comprised of some incredible individuals. In 2005, ROCK was growing and decided to hire its first full time President. At the time, I was a partner in one of the largest law firms in our region and was feeling a call in my life to use my skills and abilities to stand up against the attacks on our values, our beliefs and our families. But leaving my law firm to become the first President of a non-profit was not really in my plans. But as so often happens, God had a different plan! To the surprise of many, I left my law practice to become President of ROCK in September, 2005. And every person at ROCK has a similar story. It is amazing how that faithfulness has been rewarded and the blessings ROCK has experienced in a short period of time.
DH: How bad was the situation in Kentuckiana when ROCK was first started, and what kind of progress have you seen since that time? What are some of your proudest accomplishments as an organization?
 AdvanceUSA has learned that the third annual “Wash for Life” will be held on September 13, 2008. The Wash for Life recruits young people across the country to hold car washes to raise funds for and awareness of pregnancy resource centers in their communities. Pregnancy resource centers do great work providing real choices for pregnant women, and are worthy causes for support. Mark your calendars for September 13 so you can get your car washed “for life” or organize your own “Wash for Life.”
Check out washforlife.com to see photos and results from last year’s Wash for Life and keep checking back with AdvanceUSA for more updates on this year’s event.
As
the Weekly Standard reports, with an influx of membership in Africa combined
with a growing conservative evangelical movement in the United States, the United
Methodist Church could begin to take more conservative positions on issues
such as homosexuality, abortion, family, and Christian doctrine at its quadrennial
global conference now meeting in Texas.
Already, a well-publicized anti-Israel resolution has been defeated, and
observers are expecting to see more surprising results in the future.
The
United Methodist Church is a global and highly influential organization (with a
large facility right next to the U.S. Supreme Court), and it is encouraging to
think that they might soon adopt a more Biblical understanding of sexual morality,
the family, and the right to life.
Concerned citizens would do well to pray that this influential
organization would cease to undermine traditional morality and the right to
life with its resources and policies.
The
Institute on Religion and Democracy has been watching and reporting on the
developing conservative movement within Methodism, and their
website is a helpful resource for monitoring these developments.
CitizenLink
has unveiled a new informative video resource called “Turn Signal.” Click here to view
the very first edition where you can also view episodes from CitizenLink’s
popular “Stoplight” which uses humor and creativity to get people thinking
critically about contemporary issues.
 Think creating half human, half animal creatures is only the stuff of science fiction? Think again. Some researchers want to create human-animal embryos so they can destroy them for stem cell research.
Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), who is the chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, has recently introduced legislation which would prohibit the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos. Read the text of this bill here. Similar legislation was proposed last year in the U.S. Senate by Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Let your representative and both your senators know that you support H.R. 5910 and S. 2358.
CitizenLink
reports on an upcoming
conference which will discuss the embryo adoption. Embryo adoption belies the notion that unused
embryos produced by IVF (In Vitro Fertalization) must only be discarded or else
used for research. These embryos can and
have been adopted by couples wanting children, and hopefully this conference
will raise awareness of this important alternative. No human life should be considered “leftover.”
President Bush holds
a “snowflake” child (a child who was adopted as an embryo) at a While House
press conference
The
While House held a forum on the troubling trend of faith-based schools in the
inner city having to close their doors.
President Bush spoke at the event and you can read his
speech here. Hopefully the forum
will help get out the message that greater school choice for parents and greater
protections for faith-based education are important elements in reforming
American education.
 Yesterday Sen. Hillary Clinton won the Democrat primary in Pennsylvania beating Sen. Barack Obama by almost ten points. Fox News has more information here.
For full results of the PA primary click here.
Find out how the three remaining major candidates stand on important issues with AdvanceUSA’s 2008 Candidate Comparisons for the general election.
 The Wall Street Journal has a piece today explaining the significance of which three judges the Senate decides to confirm before Memorial Day as part of Sen. Harry Reid’s good faith commitment to that effect. It is important that every effort be made to confirm three of President Bush’s strongest and longest delayed nominees in the time before Memorial Day, especially since these nominees would fill important and critically short-handed posts. Excerpts (emphasis ours):
Republican Arlen Specter has the right idea in requesting a discharge petition to confirm Peter Keisler on the D.C. Circuit, plus Robert Conrad and Steve Matthews on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Keisler, appointed to fill the seat vacated by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, is one of the most qualified nominees to the bench. He's done stints as acting Attorney General and head of the Justice Department's Civil Division. Messrs. Matthews and Conrad are both well qualified and would be assets on the Fourth Circuit, which hears many of the country's most important terrorism cases.
The problem is that Democrats would rather fill pending vacancies with candidates who are either their patronage choices or pass muster with liberal interest groups.
…
Democrats are already far behind the historical pace for judicial confirmations in the last two years of a President's term, even in years with an opposition Senate. A GOP Senate confirmed 15 appeals-court nominees in Bill Clinton's last Congress, and Democrats confirmed 17 in Ronald Reagan's last two years. The Harry Reid Democrats have confirmed only seven.
All of this deserves more political elevation this year, not least because it will affect the next President.
…
GOP Senators need to use their minority rights now to insist that Democrats honor their pledge by confirming three bona fide Bush nominees. Democrats are hoping to run out the clock on the Bush Presidency, and the GOP should use the leverage it has while Mr. Reid still wants to get things done. Republicans need to make judges an issue so voters understand that the stakes on the federal appellate courts, including the Supreme Court, couldn't be higher in 2008.
The blog ConfirmThem.com also weighs in.
 The Tucson Citizen reports that the Arizona Marriage Amendment is back on track after recent difficulties in the state House of Representatives.
Also, the California Marriage Amendment effort gathered an amazing 1.1 million signatures which ensures that a measure to amend the state constitution to protect the traditional definition of marriage will appear on the California ballot in 2008. CitizenLink reports.
As reported earlier at AdvanceUSA Blog, the marriage amendment campaign in Florida is also proceeding with determination.
AdvanceUSA
thanks Sen. Browback for defending
abstinence education in hearings being held today in the House of
Representatives. Excerpt:
"Studies have shown that abstinence
education is effective in decreasing the number of teen pregnancy and rates of
sexually transmitted diseases among youth," said Brownback. "Clearly
our current approach to sex education is not working; STD rates among teens are
rising, and it is irresponsible of us to silence the abstinence message. We
need more funding for abstinence programs, not less. Cutting funding to such
valuable programs will only have negative results as we see teens, and even
pre-teens, engage in risky sexual behavior."
Click here for
more.
Daniel Herbster
reporting
Congressman Paul
Broun, who represents Georgia’s tenth district, is one of the newest members of
Congress—having won a special election last year after the previous Congressman
for the 10th district, Charlie Norwood, passed away. I
was privileged to interview Rep. Broun about his proposed bill the “Military
Honor and Decency Act” which would fully prohibit the sale of obscene and
pornographic material on military bases. The following is my interview
with Rep. Broun.
DH:
Congressman, thanks so much for doing this interview for us. First of
all, I’d like to ask you the question I always love to ask politicians.
Why did you decide to get into politics and specifically why did you run for
your current office?
PB: When I ran for
office, I was not seeking a title or political position. I ran because I firmly believe that our
nation has lost sight of its core principles, and I want to make fundamental
changes to how our government operates.
In Psalm 11, God
asks a question, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous
do?” And God tells us the answer to that
question is to return to His precepts and commandments, because a righteous
Lord loves righteousness and He will uphold our efforts on His behalf.
We have lost our
righteous zeal, and lost our once cherished principles of personal freedom,
individual accountability and responsibility, and limited government. I ran for office to restore those principles,
and I believe that He calls each one of His children to uphold those
principles. That is what I am trying to
do in Congress, at home, and everywhere I go.
DH:
You’ve recently proposed the Military Honor and Decency Act (H.R.5821) which
deals with the sale of pornographic or obscene material on military
bases. What would this bill do?
PB: Essentially, it
will close the loophole in current law that allows pornography to be sold on
military installations across the United States and around the world. The Defense Authorization Act of 1997
included a provision to prohibit the distribution and sale of all sexually
explicit material on property under the jurisdiction of the Department of
Defense (DoD). Sadly, DoD has failed to
strictly enforce this law, and has allowed blatant, obviously pornographic
material such as Playboy and Penthouse to continue to be sold on
military bases. My bill will end this
practice and force the DoD to submit to the law.
Let me be clear – if
military personnel want to buy pornography, that is their prerogative. However, the U.S. Military should not be
involved and facilitating the transaction.
The U.S. Military should not be using its resources to deliver it right
to the doors of these military personnel. My bill does not make pornography illegal, but
it would remove the U.S. military and the U.S. taxpayer from the transaction.
DH: How
did you become aware of the need for this legislation, and what are some of the
facts that convinced you this legislation was necessary?
Despite
a veto from Oklahoma’s governor, the OK state legislature overruled the veto
and passed a bill
strengthening a woman’s right to view an ultrasound of her unborn child
before making an abortion decision. It’s
time for so-called proponents of “choice” to actually allow some informed
decision making in the abortion process.
Let’s hope other states adopt ultrasound bills which dramatically
illustrate the humanity of the unborn and provide crucial information to women.
Author
and National Review editor at large Jonah Goldberg uses the recent Supreme
Court opinion regarding the death penalty to highlight the brazenness
and danger of activist judges who totally disregard the plain meaning of
the Constitution and ignore the intent of its framers. Excerpt:
What is staggering, or at least should be,
is that Stevens freely admits that he no longer considers "objective
evidence" or even the plain text of the Constitution determinative of what
is or isn't constitutional: "I have relied on my own experience in
reaching the conclusion that the imposition of the death penalty" is
unconstitutional.
Justice Antonin Scalia, in a blistering
response, justifiably exclaimed that, "Purer expression cannot be found of
the principle of rule by judicial fiat."
Mr.
Goldberg continues by drawing our attention to the statements and promises the
major presidential candidates regarding the kind of judges they will appoint to
federal courts. He convincingly makes
the case that, when considering the future of the Supreme Court, “this is one
of the most important elections in a very long time.”
Janice
Shaw Crouse explains how recent encouraging trends in teen pregnancy rates shows
the value of abstinence education despite what proponents of so-called “comprehensive
sex education” would have us believe.
Excerpt:
There is still much to be done in changing
attitudes and promoting the well-being of America’s young people, but teen
sexual activity is down, teen pregnancies are down and teen abortions are down.
That is great news from the cultural battle fields.
Over the past decade, we have offered our
nation’s teens a bright future and expected the best from them. Not
surprisingly, they have met the challenge and are seizing the opportunities to
grasp all the possibilities available to their generation. Our national
leadership needs to continue to keep faith with them by supporting abstinence education
as clearly the best choice for their current and future well-being.
Her
insight is very timely and relevant as Congress will soon hold hearings on
whether to maintain abstinence education funding in the budget as LifeNews
reports. Excerpt:
The House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform plans the hearing for April 23 to supposedly review the
effectiveness of abstinence education.
However, leading abstinence critic Henry
Waxman will chair the panel.
He has repeatedly gone after abstinence
programs with wild-eyed claims that they are rife with inaccurate medical data
and unrealistic expectations.
Waxman has invited five witnesses to take
the anti-abstinence side in support of comprehensive sex education and just one
abstinence proponent.
All
those wishing to institute same-sex marriage in the United States should read Michael
Coren’s article in the National Post.
The disastrous results in Canada he mentions should give our nation
pause before giving into politically correct intimidation tactics that label
any opposition to “gay marriage” as intolerant and evil.
Unfortunately,
it appears that appeals by pro-cloning forces in Missouri may not allow
signature gatherers enough time to get the proposed
cloning ban on Missouri’s 2008 ballot.
It is still possible the feat could be accomplished with determined
grassroots effort, but the fight to fully and completely ban human cloning in
Missouri will continue regardless.
CitizenLink reports. This is a crucially important case not only
for parental rights but for opposing the imposition of gay marriage by
unelected judges. Excerpt:
The Virginia Supreme Court will move a step
closer on Thursday to deciding whether a lesbian woman will win custody of her
ex-partner’s child, a decision that could undermine the state’s marriage
amendment.
Janet Jenkins, who has no biological or
adoptive ties to Lisa Miller’s 6-year-old daughter, Isabella, is seeking
parental rights because she was in a relationship with Miller when the child
was born. Miller got pregnant through artificial insemination from an anonymous
donor, and the couple eventually ended the relationship.
UPDATE: One News Now
offers helpful information about the crucial custody case before the
Virginia Supreme Court.
The
AP has a story today trying to encourage sympathy for members of “gay marriages”
who are seeking to get divorced in other states. This is really
a tactic to spread “gay marriage” from states like Massachusetts to states where
traditional marriage is currently protected.
Homosexual activists are hoping that unelected judges will overturn
marriage amendments or defense of marriage acts as a result of recognizing “gay
divorces.”
 AdvanceUSA is encouraged to learn that a good faith deal has been struck in the Senate which would result in three more of the president’s circuit court nominees being confirmed before the Memorial Day recess. This appears to be an important step toward progress on the crucial issue of judicial appointments, and we hope this will result in the Senate achieving the historical precedent of 15-17 circuit court judges being confirmed in a president’s last two years in office.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) statement:
I was encouraged by the Majority Leader’s commitment to confirming three more circuit court nominees by Memorial Day. That will bring the total for the 110th Congress to 10, and it is a good step toward reaching the goal that we outlined at the beginning of this Congress of reaching the historical average.
Because of the Majority Leader’s good faith commitment, I’m confident that we’ll have these three additional nominees confirmed by Memorial Day.
Excerpt from Roll Call article (subscription):
Dangling the popular highway funding bill as his hostage, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) struck a deal Tuesday night with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to dislodge a handful of President Bush’s stalled appellate court nominees.
In
our continuing series of interviews for our weekly online newsletter, we recently
interviewed Jim Pfaff of the Colorado Family
Institute.
DH: It’s finally beginning to
look like spring here in the Midwest.
Are you still snow-bound out there in Colorado?
JP:
Here on the Front Range just below the mountains we go back and forth from Spring
to Winter all the way until May, but up in the mountains, they’ll have winter
and skiing for some time to come due thanks to heavy snow all winter. They’re not talking Global Warming at the
resorts this year.
DH: What is the mission of the
Colorado Family Institute?
JP: Colorado
Family Institute (CFI) is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 research and educational
organization committed to strengthening the family. Our goal is to restore and defend traditional
moral principles in the culture by advocating for sound public policy. We are part of a nationwide network of family
policy councils associated with Focus on the Family® and Dr. James Dobson. We
educate and equip churches and citizens on important public policy issues that
affect marriage, life and the family—and ultimately to shape public opinion on
these issues.
DH: How did it get started? How long has it been around?
LifeNews reports.
Basically,
even if iPSC did allow for easier cloning or easier creation of hybrid embryos,
it does not change the fact that iPSC is an excellent and ethical source of
pluripotent stem cells. As in many
instances, just because a scientific procedure (i.e. induced pluripotent stem
cell research) can be abused (i.e. human cloning, human-animal hybrid embryos,
etc.) does not mean that procedure is inherently unethical.
AdvanceUSA
contacted Dr. David Prentice and he concurs that recent “concerns” over iPSC
are probably attempts to create hype which undermines the significance of
ethically derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) which make human cloning and embryonic stem cell research unecessary.
 Homosexual activists gathered in our nation’s capital from a few days ago until Tax Day (today) lobbying for what they call “family values.” Their agenda includes supposed anti-discrimination legislation like ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) and instituting laws which provide what substantively amount to marriage benefits to same-sex couples.
Concerned citizens must be careful to clearly state that we do not hate homosexuals or wish to persecute them, but that we strongly object to creating special rights and privileges based on sexual behavior and we believe that organizations and companies should have the right to deem certain behavior unacceptable for their employees.
If these legislative goals proceed they will likely include some sort of “religious exemptions” which only protect churches and other explicitly religious organizations, but which do not cover individual employers such as private companies and certain non-profits. For example, while a Catholic church might be exempted from being forced to hire or accommodate homosexuals or same-sex couples, a Catholic businessman or leader of a faith-based charity would not be protected. The religious freedoms of individuals should be protected, not just the religious freedom of large organizations.
The bottom line is that sexual behavior should not be given preferential treatment under law under the guise of anti-discrimination. Also, the crucial institution of marriage should not be undermined by offering special marriage benefits to same-sex couples.
ACTION: We do not yet know when Congress will consider such legislation, but we encourage you to contact your representative and both your senators to urge them to oppose ENDA and other attempts to give substantive marriage benefits to same-sex couples.
William
J. Federer provides some important historical
context to the oft-quoted but seldom understood phrase “separation of
church and state.”
Here
are some helpful resources on the recent Senate dust-up over judges.
Thanks
to the leadership and courage of many senators one more appellate court nominee
has been approved (Catharina Haynes, 5th Circuit). The Senate still has a long, long way to go
to do justice to President Bush’s nominees so we encourage senators to keep up
the pressure on judges.
As
our newly updated
graphic shows, the Senate has been acting at a “snail’s pace” on judges and
needs to step it up.
The
Metro (UK) reports. Excerpt:
Paralysed [sic.] people could gain the use
of their limbs again after scientists found a 'messaging system' that could be
used to control adult stem cells.
Researchers found the cells respond to
chemical signals which instruct them to help repair tissue.
The work, funded by the Medical Research
Council, could eventually lead to the development of techniques to tell adult
stem cells to mend the body.
Scenta
(UK) also reports. Excerpt:
Avoiding many of the ethical issues
associated with embryonic stem cells, ASCs could have many therapeutic uses and
could potentially be controlled by the chemical signalling [sic.] systems
within the body that instruct cells to contribute to tissue repair.
Senate
Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spoke out
on the slow pace of judges this morning in the Senate. Excerpt:
It’s been 108 days since this Senate
confirmed a federal judge of any kind. It last did so the week before
Christmas, on December 18, 2007.
Since then, the Senate has made precious
little progress on judicial nominations.
It has not confirmed any federal judicial
nominees this year, and the Judiciary Committee has held only one hearing on
one circuit court nominee since last September.
Today we will finally be able to confirm
some judicial nominees. That is obviously good news. But after we confirm the
judicial nominees on the calendar that may be it for a while, due to the
glacial pace at which the Judiciary Committee is proceeding.
We
have been informed that the Senate will today consider the following judicial
nominees.
Brian
Miller (Arkansas)
James
Randal Hall (GA)
John
Mendez (CA)
Stanley
Anderson (TN)
Catharina
Haynes (Fifth Circuit)
We
are glad to see Catharina Haynes on this list and look forward to adding
another number to our circuit
court chart comparison, bringing the number of Bush appellate court nominees
confirmed in his last two years to a whopping 7 (compared to 15 in Clinton’s
last two years).
Former Judiciary Chairman Sen. Orin Hatch
(R-UT) also
spoke out on judges. Here is an
excerpt from his speech:
…one of my colleagues was recently quoted
as saying that facts are stubborn things.
The facts are that the majority has
virtually shut down the judicial confirmation process.
 The Washington Times reported in
February on the case of Elaine Huguenin, a Christian photographer in New Mexico,
who refused
to take pictures of a lesbian civil ceremony. Elaine is being prosecuted under
anti-discrimination laws and the Alliance
Defense Fund is now coming to her assistance. This case is a chilling reminder of why
anti-discrimination laws based on “sexual orientation or gender identity”
should be opposed, especially on the federal level (i.e. ENDA). Here’s an excerpt from the Times:
An evangelical Christian photographer was
brought before the New Mexico Human Rights Commission after she declined for
religious reasons to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony.
When Elaine Huguenin of Albuquerque, N.M.,
declined in September 2006 an e-mail request from a lesbian couple to
photograph their ceremony, one of the lesbians responded by lodging a human
rights complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Division, the state agency
charged with enforcing state anti-discrimination laws and sending cases to the
commission to be adjudicated.
LifeSiteNews
also reported
on this case.
CNN
Money reports.
Our
friend Dr. David Prentice was quoted in the piece. Excerpt:
Dave
Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences at the Christian organization Family
Research Council, opposes the use of human embryos in research. "You
shouldn't be destroying human embryos at the earlier stage of human life to
harvest cells," said Prentice, who has a PhD. in biochemistry from the University
of Kansas.
Other stem cell options are available, he said, such as harvesting them from
umbilical cord blood or adult tissue, or "reprogramming"
adult cells to behave like stem cells, as demonstrated in recently-released
but early-stage studies.
LifeNews reports. Let’s hope other states follow suit with this
important legislation which seeks to give women complete information of what
abortion involves.
Daniel Herbster
reporting
The Lighted Candle Society is on the
cutting edge of the fight against pornography.
They marshal the latest scientific research on the dangerous effects of
pornography (on the individual and on society) to fight the porn industry in
the courts. I was able to interview my
fellow blogger and facebook friend Justin Hart, who is the Vice President of
Communications for the Lighted Candle Society, and the following is the text of
that interview.
DH: I’ve been
familiar with Justin’s work online for several months, and after communicating
with him online from time to time it was a real treat to meet him in person at
a bloggers meeting in Washington, DC recently.
He’s also one of my “facebook friends.”
I’m so grateful Justin was willing to answer my questions and let our
readers know about the great work the Lighted Candle Society is doing.
Justin, what is the Lighted Candle Society and
how did it get started?
JH: The Lighted
Candle Society was founded in 2001 by Ed Meese (former Attorney General under
Ronald Reagan) and John Harmer (former Lt. Governor of California under Reagan
in the 60s). Both John and Ed are
veterans of the culture wars, having fought for decency issues over the last
four decades.
John Harmer is the driving force behind the Lighted Candle
Society. He started the non-profit
organization to fight pornography is a very unique and unprecedented way.
DH: How long have
you been with LCS and what kind of things do you do for them?
JH: I've been
with the Lighted Candle Society for almost a year now. They really felt the need to ramp things into
high gear. I came on as Vice President
of Communications to make that happen. I
help develop the multiple websites which we maintain, organize our online
fundraising efforts, and create our action alerts to our members.
DH: How can our
readers take a stand against pornography and sexually oriented businesses in
their communities?
There is more encouraging news in the potential power of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) which are obtained ethically by inducing ordinary skin cells into an embryonic-like state without actually creating or destroying embryos. News of treating Parkinson’s with iPSC is especially important in light of the recent misleading media reports that cloning (SCNT) had been used to treat mice with Parkinson’s. Unlike SCNT, which would be completely unethical in humans, induced pluripotent stem cells offer an exciting and ethical alternative source of pluripotent (can become any type of tissue) stem cells for research and potential treatments.
For more information on stem cells check the stem cell page.
Jeff
Jacoby provides some insightful commentary on the disturbing
trend toward sex-selection abortion around the world and here in the United
States. This is yet another reminder of
the prevalence of the culture of death in our world. Excerpt from Boston Globe article:
THE UNFETTERED "right to choose"
is a progressive value, we are instructed by the abortion lobby - one
indispensable to the empowerment of women. But a new study in PNAS (the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) prompts an awkward question:
How exactly are American women empowered when abortion is deployed to prevent
the existence of American girls?
…
But nothing can excuse such abortions in
the United States - nothing except the theology of "choice," which
elevates the right to an abortion above all other considerations. You don't
have to be a feminist to know that being a girl is not a birth defect, or to be
horrified by a practice that lethally reinforces the most benighted forms of
sexual discrimination. For what kind of feminist would it be who could
contemplate the use of abortion to eliminate ever-greater numbers of girls, and
not cry out in horror?
Ken
Connor reminds us that the scourge
of slavery continues in our world today, even in the United States. Part of the reason for this continued trade
is the expansion and mainstreaming of pornography and sexually oriented business
which fuels the demand for so-called “sex workers” including slaves. Excerpt:
Unfortunately, slavery is still a
widespread practice all over the world, including the US. The Civil War may
have removed the public sanction of slavery, but it is still a common
underground practice. Journalist Benjamin Skinner undertook four years of
undercover investigation into "human trafficking" (a euphemism for
slavery) in order to increase awareness of this international injustice. His
research and experiences are chronicled in his recent book, "A Crime So
Monstrous." Skinner posed as a customer at underground brothels in several
countries in order to get a better picture of the realities of the slave trade.
Operation
Rescue has created a
helpful timeline of events to help people understand the outrageous
abortion scandals involving late-term abortionist George Tiller and Planned
Parenthood of Kansas. This is an
important case for the pro-life movement and we are grateful for this helpful
resource.
Our friends at the Committee for Justice provide an interesting and exciting account of the recent showdown in the Senate Judiciary Committee over the sorry lack of progress on giving hearings or fair up-or-down votes to President Bush’s judicial nominees.
We applaud the committee members who spoke up on the issue and encourage them to keep up the pressure until all of the President’s pending appellate court nominations have had hearings and floor votes. Appointing well-qualified, originalist judges to the federal bench (especially when many courts are experiencing vacancy crises) is too important an issue to do anything less.
Please call Chairman Leahy and both your state’s senators and urge them to do their constitutional duty and hold hearing for and vote on the Presidents judicial nominees.
The
House of Representatives has approved
a version of PEPFAR anti-AIDS funding that is much improved from the original
version which would have mandated abortion funding, drastically cut back
abstinence and faithfulness education, and weakened anti-prostitution
provisions. Though significant
improvements have been made to the bill, not all conservatives support the
measure because of fiscal concerns over massive spending increases and concerns
that there is insufficient accountability over how funds are spent. The bill will now go to the U.S. Senate.
The
Arizona
Republic reports. Despite being held
up in the legislature, Arizona marriage proponents are examining their options
and planning to move ahead with a constitutional amendment to protect the
traditional definition of marriage.
On
April 1 Senator Specter addressed the need to make progress on President Bush’s
judicial nominations. We applaud Sen.
Specter for his speech, and urge the Senate to fulfill its constitutional duty
to provide “advice and consent” to the President on the important matter of
judicial nominations. Excerpt of Sen.
Specter’s speech:
We have a situation where there has not
been one confirmation of a Federal judge this year. Since September 25th of
last year, there has only been one hearing for a circuit judge, and that was on
February 21, in the midst of a recess. There have only been two hearings that
included district court judges, the one on February 12 and one other. Six
nominees have been heard; four are on the agenda for this week's executive
business meeting.
The comparison between what has happened
with President Bush and President Clinton shows a decisive imbalance which
requires prompt action by the Senate on the confirmation of President Bush's
judges.
To
see a graphic illustrating the historical imbalance Sen. Specter referred to click here.
There
is disturbing news coming out of Britain as the Telegraph
(UK) reports. Using a process
similar to SCNT, scientists put human DNA into unfertilized cow eggs in order
to obtain mostly-human embryos for stem cell research. Tampering with human life in this way is
degrading, and the scientists’ assurances that the hybrid embryos will be destroyed
(killed) within 14 days does not provide any comfort to pro-lifers.
These
developments highlight why the Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act should be
passed in the United States Senate as soon as possible.
LifeNews and Times
Online (UK) also report.
Graphic source: Telegraph
The Wall Street Journal reports that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) is planning to lead a strategy to shut down the Senate unless President Bush’s many appellate court nominations are given hearings and fair up-or-down votes (which is the Senate’s constitutional duty). In light of the extreme importance of appointing well-qualified, originalist judges to the federal bench, we applaud his leadership in forcing the Senate to do its job when it comes to judges. Excerpt from WSJ article:
The Democratic Senate has confirmed a mere six nominees with no plans in sight to move the remaining 11 forward. Judicial nominees rarely are confirmed in the final months of a President's second term, so the clock is running out. Democrats figure they'll retake the White House in November, and they don't mind leaving the courts short-handed for another year or two as they stall for liberal nominees.
Mr. Specter says he has recommended that Republicans "go full steam ahead" until Democrats agree to hold confirmation votes.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) recently gave a speech in the Senate on the importance of making progress on judges. He also published an opinion piece in the National Review on the same topic. Excerpt:
The Constitution gives to the president authority to nominate and appoint federal judges. The Senate provides advice about whether the president should appoint his judicial nominees by giving or withholding consent through up or down votes. That is what the Constitution assigns us to do. That is what Americans expect the Senate to do. That is what the Senate is failing to do.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has also urged action on judges.
It’s time our friends on the other side stop blaming others for their own failures to act on judicial nominations. If they don’t, Republicans will be forced to consider other options.
Improving the makeup of the federal bench and making sure there are enough judges to promote justice in America is one of the most important issues in our country. We applaud the efforts by Senators McConnell, Specter, and Hatch to make progress on this front.
Contact Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and urge him to get to work on judicial nominations. Also, contact both your senators and urge them to push for progress on judicial nominations.
LifeNews reports. Excerpt:
A leading pro-life member of Congress plans
an amendment to a bill on health care for Native Americans that's similar to
the language of an amendment the Senate approved last month. Rep. Joe Pitts
wants to make sure the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (H.R. 1328) isn't
used to fund abortions with public money.
AdvanceUSA
thanks Congressman Pitts for proposing this important pro-life amendment, and
urges the rest of the Energy and Commerce Committee to support it. CitizenLink also
reports.
You
can look up members of the committee here, and
find your representative’s contact
information here (look them up by name or zip code).
Graphic source: CitizenkLink
CitizenLink reports
on this troubling development.
AdvanceUSA has also been informed of likely moves to undermine marriage
by offering special rights and benefits to same-sex couples, and will be watching
federal legislation that relates to this issue closely.
Should
broadcasters be allowed to air patently indecent or obscene content at any time
of day (including when children are likely to be in the audience)? Kristen Fyfe gives a helpful explanation of
the case and provides examples of current and future abuses by broadcasters.
Excerpt:
As it stands the
Supreme Court is due to consider broadcast indecency in the 2008-2009
term. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled last year in Fox v. FCC that “fleeting” expletives should not be fined by
the FCC. The FCC appealed the ruling to
the Supreme Court, which has not examined the indecency issue since it ruled in
the Pacifica case in 1973. For more on the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the
fleeting expletives case, click
here.
Until the Supreme
Court acts to clarify broadcast decency issues, it appears the networks are
going to do everything in their power to thumb their collective noses at the
FCC and in effect, the American public.
All in the name of “entertainment.”
Isn’t that hilarious?
Ken
Connor has a thought provoking piece on the need
to protect disabled children from abortion by making sure mothers have
accurate information about disabilities.
Excerpt:
Most parents receive the news that they are
"expecting" with joy and excitement. For some, however, the good news
turns sour when they learn that their unborn or newly born child has Down
syndrome or is afflicted with some other disability like cystic fibrosis. What
parents are told about their child's future and how they are told it often
influences whether that child is born at all. That's why Senators Sam Brownback
and Ted Kennedy have co-sponsored the "Prenatally and Postnatally
Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act".
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