Wednesday, February 28, 2007

More on Romney...

Click the link below:

Romney no Ronald Reagan, says veteran campaigner

Mitt Romney -- Pro-life or Pro-abortion?


At the link below is a video of Romney in a debate during the 2002 governor's race in Massachusetts.

Romney on Abortion - 2002

He certainly makes it clear he would vigorously defend a woman's "right to choose", and distances himself from any kind of pro-life affiliation. Can we trust his alleged pro-life position now?

On another front, is Mitt Romney responsible for gay marriage in Massachusetts? Many people think so.

Family group: Mitt Romney chose 'gay' marriage
Activist says Massachusetts court admits it couldn't force change

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Coming soon to a school near you...


Please read the article below. The sad thing is that churches and parents are largely silent on this issue.

MD school district creates furor with sex-ed program


Read more here:

PARENT GROUPS ASK MARYLAND TO STOP NEW SEX ED LESSONS
Neutral Unisex Bathroom Created for Cross-dressing Student


1984 is closer than you think


Please read the story at the link below:

Man files lawsuit claiming harassment based on sexual orientation

I don't know what the true facts are in this case, but the below statement is what concerns me the most.

"He also is asking that Emco be ordered to undergo sensitivity training and to remove supervisors who engaged in harassment."

You see, it is not enough that someone is punished for a wrongdoing. They also want the offenders to be sent off to a re-education camp, so they will be taught to think like the State wants them to think.

It is a scary thing when not only is behavior punished, but "wrong" thoughts are punished as well. This is why many of us were opposed to the "Bully Bill", "Hate Crimes" legislation, etc. These laws are not about protecting homosexuals, but rather forcing the rest of us to accept homosexuality.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Homosexual Indoctrination in Schools

With the passage of SF 61 (the "Bully Bill"), you will start to see kids indoctrinated into thinking that homosexuality is just as valid and normal as heterosexuality. Click on the link below to see how this is starting to happen, with parents not having the opportunity to opt their kids out of such "teaching". With SF 61, even Christian schools in Iowa are not immune. It seems the only way to escape this is to homeschool your kids.

Judge orders 'gay' agenda taught to Christian children.

I would like to gather information about any instances of the religious freedom or freedom of speech rights of Christian students being violated. If you know anyone who has kids in public schools, please ask them to ask their kids to let them know if they observe such things happening. The only way to wake people up on this issue is with real-life examples from local schools.

All he wanted to do was have some fun...


Self-described "pro-life" Democrat Brian Quirk (House District 15) did an about face on his position on the "Clone and Kill" bill last week after receiving a phone call from rocker Sheryl Crow. Representative Quirk had reportedly told several of his constituents, as well as his priest, that he would vote against the bill. After hearing from Miss Crow, however, he changed his mind.

Quirk said it was not the call from Crow that changed his mind, but the pleas at the hearing last Wednesday night from people looking for "hope" in finding cures for various maladies afflicting them or their loved ones. However, Quirk had surely heard those types of pleas over and over prior to the hearing; the new variable was the call from Crow, during which, according to reliable sources, she promised to make an appearance during his next campaign, in exchange for his vote on this bill.

C'mon, Brian, we're not stupid! Do you really expect us to believe just hearing more of the same kinds of pleas changed your mind, and getting a call from an attractive female rock star had no influence on you? Those of us out here who are male aren't buying it.

If it was truly the testimonies at the hearing that changed your mind, perhaps it wouldn't have been changed if you and the rest of your Democrat colleagues had been in chamber for the first 1 1/2 hours of the hearing, when most of the opponents of the bill spoke. Or maybe that was when Sheryl called, and you put her on speaker phone in a conference room so the rest of your caucus members could listen in. I guess that's more fun than sitting in a hearing listening to constituents speak the truth.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

"Education and Outreach Specialist" to be hired to enforce the new "Safe Schools" law

The day after the Bully Bill passed, the "GLBT Youth in Iowa Schools Task Force" had already e-mailed notification of a new position that was created to make sure the law is enforced. Note the fact that, even though there are 19 categories of students enumerated in the bill, only LGBT youth are mentioned in the job description, and in the e-mail below:

"In combination with the passage of this legislation, I am pleased to announce that our Task Force has made a commitment to help implement the new law through the hire of a full-time Education and Outreach Specialist. This new staff person will help implement the Safe Schools Law through training and professional development to school districts and education organizations, including raising public awareness about LGBT youth throughout Iowa."

This organization is called "Iowa Safe Schools", and they say their goal is to make schools safe for "all" students, but the only group of students they ever talk about are LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) students.

Doris Kelley...This is representing her constituents?

Representative Doris Kelley (House District 20) has said both publicly, and in private e-mails, that she was going to vote according to what her constituents wanted. In fact, here is a statement from an e-mail she sent to one of her constituents in regard to SF162, the "Clone and Kill" bill:

"While I am supportive, my vote will be based on constituent feedback. I am here to represent District 20 and not my personal beliefs."

Interestingly enough, according the poll she conducted on her website concerning the "Bully Bill" (SF61), 60% of her constituents were against the bill. Yet, she voted in favor of it. Could it have anything to do with the fact that she received several $1,000 contributions (and several more ranging from $100 to $500) from out-of-state homosexual activists?

Now, I know online polls are not scientific, but she is the one who claimed she was going to use it as a method of determining where her constituents are on the issues. She should either keep her word, or eliminate the online poll.

You somewhat expect this at the federal level, but it is a disgrace to have state politicians receiving money from out-of-state special interests, then voting as those special interests demand, rather than representing their constituency. It is an outrage to think that rich, out-of-state contributors are buying the votes of our legislators in Des Moines. And Rep. Kelley is not the only one. So far, we have identified at least three other Democrats who have received contributions from this same group of people.

See Atlantic Monthly Online article: They Won't Know What Hit Them

"Big Lug" or "Big Bully"?


Apparently, the governor called some "pro-life" Democrats into his office last week and twisted their arms, because they were leaning toward voting against the "Clone and Kill" bill. It is unfortunate that the "Bully Bill" that was recently passed doesn't also apply to the governor!

Friday, February 23, 2007

H.R. 254 - "Hate Crimes" Bill

The U.S. Congress is anticipated to vote soon on a new "hate crimes" bill. Please read about it at the link below, then contact your congressman and ask him to oppose it.

Federal Hate Crimes Law & Pending Legislation

Thursday, February 22, 2007

SF 162 Passes...Also SF 61

Well, the vote is in, and SF 162, the "Clone and Kill" bill, has passed the House 52-46, with 2 absent or not voting. No doubt tomorrow you will hear the spin in the news coverage of this bill's passage (refer to my previous post). Here's an example of what you can expect: Rep. Lisa Heddens, the floor manager for the bill, in her closing comments said, "If you are voting no on this bill, the message that you are saying is that you do NOT support the ban on human reproductive cloning, and you don't support the treatment of cures for Iowans".

On another note, the house also passed SF 61, the "Bully Bill", which will force school districts to adopt a policy dictated by the state that enumerates certain categories of students, including sexual orientation, who are more deserving of protect from harassment and bullying than other students. This is nothing more than a back door attempt to indoctrinate our school children with the belief that homosexuality is just another lifestyle choice, rather than being the sinful behavior that it is. Anyone who expresses a contrary view will be punished and sent off to re-education camp.

Not only will religious schools not be exempt from this law, but the House amendment which said the bill "shall not be construed to inhibit the teaching or consideration of doctrinal matters" was stripped out of the bill in the Senate. At stake here is nothing less than our freedoms of speech and religion. A teacher in a Christian school that teaches homosexuality is a sin could be subject to disciplinary action under this law.

It is a sad day for Iowa. But let's not be discouraged...let's get mad! Tell all your like-minded friends every chance you get what is going on. And be sure to find out how your legislator voted on this bill, and be sure to let him or her know how you feel about it!

The current majority can do a lot more irreversible damage in the next two years. It is important that ALL biblical Christians let our legislators know how we feel on the issues that are important to us!

Hearing on HF 287

I attended the hearing last night on House File 287 in the House chambers in the statehouse in Des Moines. HF 287 would repeal the state's current ban on cloning, and would allow cloning and killing of human embryos for the purpose of research. As I write this blog, the senate version of the bill (SF 162) is being debated in the House.

There has been much misinformation put out about on this issue by proponents of the bill. Let me try to address some of this misinformation. The false claims are in blue, my responses in black.

Claim: We need this bill in order to allow life-saving embryonic stem cell research.

Truth: Embryonic stem cell research is already allowed in Iowa. Further, no cures have resulted from embryonic stem cell research, while over 70 diseases are being treated with adult stem cells.

Claim: This bill does not allow cloning of human embryos.

Truth: If that were the case, then why would they include in the bill a prohibition on implanting these created cells in the womb of a woman? It is because embryos would be created; anything else would not grow in a woman's womb, thus a prohibition would not be needed.
This bill does allow cloning. It repeals our current ban on cloning, and in its place bans only "reproductive cloning", which would supposedly prohibit implantation of a cloned embryo in a woman's womb. However, this ban is unenforcible, as there is no way to prove if a pregnant woman got pregnant naturally, or through the implantation of a cloned embryo.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Introduction

Welcome to the first post of my blog! This blog will be primarily geared toward Christians who hold a biblical worldview (hence the name "Activism by the Book"). The "activism" part is because my goal is to equip and encourage biblical Christians (and other like-minded individuals) to become actively involved in the civic arena.

There seems to be a growing sentiment these days that it is wrong for Christians to express their beliefs in the public square, and wrong for Christian politicians to let their beliefs influence how they vote on bills. This is fueled to a large degree by the ACLU, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and the mistaken notion that the Constitution actually contains the phrase "separation of church and state" (it doesn't). We have gone from our founders' desire to merely prevent the federal government from establishing a national denomination, like England had, to a country where it is thought to be wrong to have the Ten Commandments posted in a government building, wrong to allow student-led prayer before graduation or a football game, and wrong to have a cross on public property.

Anyway, I want to touch on the contention by some that it is wrong for Christian politicians to let their beliefs influence their decisions. I'm sure you have heard politicians say, "I personally feel abortion is wrong, but I don't feel I have the right to impose my morality on others". What nonsense!

First of all, if your faith isn't a big enough part of your life that it influences your decisions on issues, then it is probably inconsequential to you. Second, using the abortion example, try substituting other words for abortion. How about, "I personally feel murder is wrong, but I don't feel I have the right to impose my morality on others"? That argument quickly falls apart. Third, everyone has a worldview. A person's theological beliefs (what they believe about God) are the foundation of their worldview, and influence every other area. Have you ever heard someone suggest that an atheist should check their beliefs at the door? Of course not! Their theological beliefs influence their decisions. (Almost no politician would admit to being an atheist, but for all practical purposes that is how many of them live their lives--they are what has been called "practical atheists".)

Well, I think I have given you enough for the introductory post. I'm hopeful I have at least started you thinking that perhaps it is ok to bring a biblical worldview into the public square. In future posts, I will try to flesh this out, and provide more reasons why Christians should be more involved in politics. In addition, I will try to keep you up to date on proposed legislation on social issues in your government (primarily State of Iowa, but also the federal government to some extent), as well as what is going on in the culture--e.g., religious liberties being lost, etc.

One quick note, in case you decide to post a response on this blog. You are free to express whatever opinion you like, I only ask that you keep the language clean. I would like to keep this site G-rated.

Thank you, and enjoy the blog!