"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!

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

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.

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!