Pro-Abortion Judge Named Obama's First Fed. Court Pick

Kathleen Gilbert, www.LifeSiteNews.com

Obama's first judicial appointment, billed by White House officials as a moderate pick designed to ease partisan confirmation scuffles, has sparked concern among conservatives who are pointing out the nominee's liberal record on life and other issues and say the pick sets a trend for future left-leaning appointees touted as "moderates."

Obama on Tuesday picked U.S. District Judge David F. Hamilton to the 7th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals, saying Hamilton "has a long and impressive record of service and a history of handing down fair and judicious decisions." The GOP senator from Hamilton's home state of Indiana, Richard Lugar, paved the way for Senate confirmation with a statement that he would "enthusiastically support" the pick.

But conservative and pro-life leaders say they are wary of Hamilton, a former ACLU board member, whom they claim has a history of handing down activist decisions. Prominent among the concerns was Hamilton's handling of an Indiana abortion consent law, which would have required abortionists to give patients information on abortion alternatives at least eighteen hours before the scheduled procedure.

Ed Whelan, President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, wrote ironically: "It's far from clear what justifies the ... characterization of Hamilton as a 'moderate'…. maybe Hamilton's extraordinary seven-year-long series of rulings obstructing Indiana's implementation of its law providing for informed consent on abortion?"

Read the rest of the article here.

Is anyone even surprised at this point?

Does the Dictionary Definition Matter?

Apparently some time ago, Merriam-Webster Dictionary added a second definition to the word marriage:

"the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage."

Read the article here.

Do you think it was changed as a result of prevailing attitudes about marriage, or to influence people's attitudes about homosexuality? And does it even matter that the dictionary definition of marriage has changed?

Obama Administration to Sign UN Declaration to "Decriminalize Homosexuality"

Hilary White, www.LifeSiteNews.com

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Obama Administration has confirmed that it will endorse a United Nations declaration that will call for the global "decriminalization of homosexuality." The State Department today endorsed the U.N. statement, saying that it did so out of concern over for "violence and human rights abuses against gay, lesbian, transsexual and bisexual individuals" and "the criminalization of sexual orientation in many countries."

The declaration in question, which former president George W. Bush refused to sign, has been heavily criticised by pro-family groups as a significant step towards the worldwide outlawing of religious opposition to the homosexualist political agenda.

State department officials said Tuesday that they had notified the declaration's sponsors that the administration wants to be added as a supporter. The declaration is being sponsored by France and the Netherlands at the request of homosexualist activist Louis-Georges Tin. It has been signed by all 27 European Union members of the UN's General Assembly, as well as Japan, Australia, Mexico and three dozen other countries, making a total of 66 of the UN's 192 member states. 70 UN member states outlaw homosexual activity and more than 50 nations opposed the declaration. The US was the only western country that had refused to sign.

Read the full article here.

Same-Sex Marriage Battle in Vermont

From Secular Heretic:

Vermont lawmakers are starting a week of hearings on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.

In 2000, Vermont became the first state in the U.S. to adopt civil unions. Supporters claim "gay marriage" would give same sex couples additional rights related to insurance, health care and Social Security benefits.

Rep. Tom Little says that same-sex marriage legislation is "a better course" for Vermont because the terminology (civil union v. marriage) is unfair.

The situation in Vermont is an excellent example of how civil unions work. They are a stepping stone to marriage access—which people openly hope will grant the homosexual lifestyle more social acceptance. However, in the mean time, it literally strips marriage of its core meaning: the unification of opposite genders for the benefit of society.

As a society, we do not give benefits to citizens because of their love, sexual orientation, or for social acceptance.

Hundreds of marriage supporters are lobbying at the Vermont Statehouse. They say the bill would undermine the institution of marriage and harm children.

Read more at
Preserving Marriage
The Opine Editorials
Beetle Blogger

Planned Parenthood Exposed

Undercover Student Videos Help De-Fund Planned Parenthood

United Families International

LOS ANGELES, CA - Undercover videos produced by Live Action Films were used to help strip Planned Parenthood of the $292,000 in taxpayer funds it received from Orange County, CA. The videos, part of the ongoing Mona Lisa Project, clearly show Planned Parenthood employees ignoring the sexual abuse of minors, which mandatory reporting laws require clinicians to report.

Mark Bucher, a local resident and board member of the Family Action PAC, saw the videos and decided to find out if Orange County gave taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood. Bucher proceeded to uncover an intricate money trail unknown even to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, and found that Planned Parenthood received funds through the Orange County Health Care Agency but was never identified as the recipient.

“The distribution of public funds to Planned Parenthood through the Orange County Health Care Agency appeared to be a deliberate cover-up since it was nearly impossible to detect where the money was going from the County to several different health clinics,” said Bucher. “After watching the undercover videos from Live Action, it became clear to me that Planned Parenthood has a lot to hide.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Two more videos exposing illegal actions by Planned Parenthood are scheduled to be released tomorrow.

You can view the first three videos here.

Porn Lawyer David Ogden confirmed as Deputy Attorney General

The vote was 65-28. Ten Republicans voted for him, one Democrat voted against.

Read more about it here.

Redefining Gender

Vote pending on 'gender identity' in Gainesville

Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow.com

The citizens of Gainesville, Florida, are set to do battle over a gender-identity ordinance passed by the city council.

The ordinance passed by the civic leaders defines gender as follows: "An inner sense of being a specific gender, or the expression of a gender identity by verbal statement, appearance, or mannerisms, or other gender-related characteristics of an individual with or without regard to the individual's designated sex at birth."

Passage of the ordinance caused an uproar because, in essence, it permits people to use public facilities -- restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms -- based on their inner feeling about their gender. As Jim Gilbert with Citizens for Good Public Policy explains, that means men could use women's restrooms and women could use men's rooms. And outside of the obvious, that poses a real problem, he says.

Read the full story here.

California Initiative Proposes Abolishing All Marriage from Law

By Kathleen Gilbert, www.LifeSiteNews.com

California same-sex "marriage" supporters are collecting signatures to support a ballot initiative that would remove civil marriage from California law entirely, as well as the provision codifying marriage as between a man and a woman.

The "Domestic Partnership Initiative" proposes to categorize all unions simply as "domestic partnerships," while retaining all the rights of marriage for heterosexual couples, and extending them to homosexual couples. According to the initiative's summary, "Legally speaking, 'Marriage' itself would become a social ceremony, recognized by only non-governmental institutions."

Read the rest of the article here.

Updates From the Frontlines

Five states are currently considering bills that would affect marriage. The state legislatures in Vermont and Washington are considering bills that would legalize same-sex marriage (the bill in Washington would not actually call it marriage). West Virginia's bill would create a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Colorado and North Dakota are also considering bills about special rights for homosexuals.

Read more about the proposed bills and contact your state representative.

Parents Who Opt Children out of Homosexual Material Face Penalties

Christian and Muslim Parents Facing Possible Criminal Charges for Opting out of LGBT History Month

By Hilary White, www.LifeSiteNews.com

UK parents could face criminal charges for having removed their children from programs held at George Tomlinson Primary School promoting the homosexual lifestyle. Waltham Forest council has announced it will prosecute parents of about 30 children who did not attend a week's worth of lessons coinciding with "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month."

A spokesman for the council said, "At George Tomlinson, parents were invited to meet with teachers and governors several weeks ago to discuss what work would be taking place throughout the national LGBT History Month, and how this work would be delivered. Regrettably, some parents chose to remove their children from school.

"The council does not condone any unauthorised absence from school and action has been taken."

But parents who objected said they were told by the school there were no other options but to remove their children from classes if they objected to the content of the program.

Pervez Latif, a 41-year-old accountant whose children, Saleh, 10, and Abdurrahin, nine, attend the school, told the Daily Mail, "I wrote a letter to the chairman of the governors explaining that I would be taking my children out of school and he wrote back saying that there was no other option."

He said that parents had not been properly informed about the content of the program. "There was just a newsletter mentioning the week and that certain themes would be taught."

Two homosexual-themed books were read in primary classes: "King and King," about a prince who falls in love with another prince, and "Tango Makes Three," about two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who fall in love and adopt a baby penguin at a New York zoo.

Mr. Latif spoke of the disruption to his family: "My wife is very concerned she might be prosecuted ... I found it difficult to explain topics such as homosexual relationships at such a young age."

"I didn't want my children to be learning about this," he said. "If I am faced with court action, then I will just explain that these are my views.

Although the Waltham Forest council has not yet informed parents how they are to be punished, the council website says that parents of truant children can be asked to sign a contract, fined on the spot or taken to court. Councils have the power to jail parents for truancy.

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Read the rest of the article here.

To those who say this would never happen here in the US, it already has.

Read more facts about David Parker's story here.