Weekly Issues Alert

May 12-18

MAY 20 IS ARMED FORCES DAY

The Christian Action League of North Carolina Would like to Thank All Members of the Military for Their Service to Our Country! You're in Our Prayers!

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood." — James Madison

North Carolina General Assembly

N.C. Surplus At Historic Level, $2 Billion Could Be Available
Legislative leaders learned Thursday that tax collections surged in April, prompting their analysts to project a revenue surplus of nearly $1.1 billion when the fiscal year ends June 30. Read
Ethics Expected To Be Hot Topic At State Capitol
Ethics will be a hot topic on Wednesday in Raleigh. A new bill is headed to the Senate. Plus, Gov. Mike Easley will announce his own ethics reform proposal. House Speaker Jim Black is under investigation for possible campaign finance violations. The controversy drove Black to appoint an ethics committee. Its recommendations helped shape a House bill that would clarify and toughen ethics laws. Read
Lawmakers Want To Earmark More Lottery Taxes For Education
The lottery bill originally passed because of a promise to fund education. Now, lawmakers are looking for ways to squeeze out even more for schools. When customers lay their money down to buy a lottery ticket, 35 cents of each dollar is directed to education. If they win, the state takes another chunk — a 7 percent withholding tax. That money goes into the state's general fund. Now, some lawmakers want to change that. Read
N.C. Budget-Writers Tell Easley No For Now On Literacy Coaches
The Legislature would deny Gov. Mike Easley's requests to hire 100 middle-school reading coaches and to give nearly $42 million more to poor school districts under a draft education budget agreed to by lawmakers Tuesday. Read
Consultant: Video Poker Means North Carolina Jobs
Legal video poker machines in North Carolina directly contribute over $100 million to the economy and jobs for 1,752, a consulting firm hired by the gaming industry said Wednesday. The industry hopes the report will persuade the General Assembly to end efforts to ban video poker... But country sheriffs, who are responsible for finding and removing illegal machines altered to allow gambling, estimate there are 20,000 illegal electronic poker stations...no video poker bans have passed the Legislature. They have stalled each time in the House under Black's tenure. The speaker has protected the industry while taking thousands of dollars in campaign donations from video poker interests.
Read
State Senate Votes To Ban Video Poker
The full North Carolina Senate unanimously approved a ban on video poker Thursday morning, outlawing the industry for the fifth time since 2000. Read
NCAE Blankets the General Assembly with Teacher Appreciation Day Message
Opening Day of the 2006 legislative session just happened to also be National Teacher Appreciation Day. NCAE took this special opportunity to send a message to legislators outlining the Association's priorities for the session. Read
State Leaders Propose Sweeping Changes To Child Sex Offender Law
Several state lawmakers introduced new bills Thursday to crack down on sex offenders in North Carolina. Read
Sales Tax Break May Be In State's Future
State lawmakers are considering a potential sales tax break, but the question is how far will the idea go? Read
Easley Calls For State Gas Tax Freeze
N.C. Gov. Mike Easley announced Friday afternoon that he will call on the General Assembly to freeze the state gasoline tax so that the rate will not increase from the current level. Read
Easley To Propose $45M In Initiatives Aimed At Helping Families
Democratic Gov. Mike Easley's proposal to include $45 million in the next state budget to help families with adoptions and child care shouldn't get much resistance from Republicans, GOP leaders said Sunday. Read
Black Appoints Three Co-Leaders Or House Rules Committee
House Speaker Jim Black appointed three Democrats on Friday as co-leaders of the powerful House Rules Committee for the legislative session that begins next week. Read
N.C. Zoo Officials Lobby Lawmakers for More Funding
Officials with the North Carolina Zoo want $6 million in state money for six projects, including an interactive center for children. Read

North Carolina Courts

N.C. Supreme Court Decision Ends Outstanding 2004 Election
In a ruling that will resolve one of the nation's last outstanding political races of 2004, the state Supreme Court on Friday removed a stay that will allow a Guilford County commissioner to finally take his seat. Read

Other North Carolina News

WRAL-TV To Air Lottery Drawings
When North Carolina begins drawing numbers for lottery games, viewers will find them on WRAL-TV. On Tuesday, the state lottery commission voted unanimously for WRAL to produce and carry the lottery drawing. Two television stations bid on the contract. Read
Alcohol Supporters Withdraw Protest; Hurley, Parker set for May 30 Run-Off
Proponents for the liquor by the drink referendum in Randleman are officially calling it quits. They aren't happy about dropping a protest to last week's narrow loss at the polls, but they have determined the task of proving a significant number of people voted illegally is too difficult to accomplish in the time allotted. Read
N.C. State Employees Want Equal Pay Raise Footing With Teachers
Mike Gould believes his college degrees should count more than they do when policymakers are deciding how much to pay him. Gould has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree to go along with eight years of experience as a probation and parole field officer. Still, he earns $32,000 a year and must work part-time at a drug treatment center to make ends meet. Read
Mauceri Named Chancellor of North Carolina School of the Arts
... Director of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in Los Angeles and Music Director of the Pittsburgh Opera, has been elected Chancellor of the North Carolina School of Arts... Read
Third Player Indicted In Duke Lacrosse Rape Investigation Proclaims Innocence
David Evans, who was indicted Monday by a grand jury, said he and his two teammates are innocent of all charges stemming from allegations made by a woman who says she was raped and beaten by three members of the Duke lacrosse team. Read
Former Wake Teacher Charged With Assault Against Student
A former Wake County middle school teacher now faces multiple charges for the alleged assault of a student. Christina Wolfe was charged with four misdemeanors; two counts each of simple assault of a handicapped person and of child abuse. More children have come forward since the initial accusation with similar charges. Read
Bridgestone Plans New Tire Factory in North Carolina
Bridgestone Aircraft Tire (USA) Inc is to transfer manufacturing operations from Miami, FL, to a new facility in North Carolina, in which it will invest $13.5 ... The company will manufacture tires for commercial jets at a new 160,000-square-foot building in Mayodan, NC. Read
Green Start Plans North Carolina Plant
Green Star Products Inc. said Monday it will build combined biodiesel-biomass ethanol plants, with the first being constructed in North Carolina. Read
Osprey Contractor Moving To N.C.
The company picked to provide the troop transport able to fit inside the Marine Corps' innovative tilt-rotor aircraft will move from Florida to North Carolina, where it will be near the military's first V-22 Osprey squadron. American Growler Corp. will relocate from Ocala, Fla., to Robbins where it will produce military vehicles to be used with the Osprey, Gov. Mike Easley said Wednesday. Read
North Carolina Case may put Gabrion to Death
A drunken driver convicted of federal crimes in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest may bolster the government's case to carry out the death sentence on Marvin Gabrion, court documents show. Read
North Carolina To Stake Claim in Biofuels at World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology
North Carolina, looking to seize growing opportunities in biofuels and other industrial uses of biotechnology, will participate in the 2006 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing in Toronto July 11-14. Read
North Carolina Floral Industry Continues to Expand
Farmers across North Carolina are using their talents to grow plants and flowers for the nursery industry instead of food crops. Read
Giuliani, in Carolina, Full of Praise for Bush
Rudolph Giuliani says he'll run for president only if he thinks he can win. There's little doubt he hopes the answer will be yes. As Mr. Giuliani lays the groundwork for a national campaign, he's trying to build support by shedding his reputation as a lone ranger who could easily support a Democrat if he were in the mood. Read
Tourists' Spending in North Carolina Tops $14B
More than 60 million visitors flocked to North Carolina in 2005, spending more than $14 billion here in the process. Read
Congressman Taylor Cited for Trashy Property in Transylvania County
Congressman Charles Taylor has been issued a notice of violation that says Taylor must clean up rental property he owns because it has become a "public health nuisance." Read
State's Largest County Proposes Tax Cut Funded with Lottery Money
Under a plan that's drawing fire from North Carolina's most powerful politicians, the manager of the state's largest county wants to use lottery proceeds to pay for a tax cut. The proposal by Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones would use $9 million in lottery money to pay toward the county's school construction debt. That would free up money for a 1.2 percent tax cut, Jones acknowledged. Any lottery over $9 million would be spent for school construction. Read
Nine Arrested for Roles in N.C. Wildfires
Nine people have been arrested in connection with 10 wildfires that occurred this spring in southeastern North Carolina, state officials said Wednesday. Read

Congress

Senate Committee Approves Gay Marriage Ban
A Senate committee approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Thursday, after a shouting match that ended when one Democrat strode out and the Republican chairman bid him "good riddance." Read
House Passes a $2.7 Trillion Spending Plan
The vote came after Republican moderates dropped demands for $3 billion for education, health and community-development block grants. Read
Broadcast-Decency Bill Sponsor Promised Vote
Congress may finally increase fines for offensive programming. Read
Americans Won't Fall for Bait and Switch!
Last night President Bush claimed, "...to secure our border, we must create a temporary worker program." He also announced he will authorize putting "up to 6,000" National Guard troops on the border, temporarily. President Bush made it clear these troops would have no military role or function, therefore appeasing Mexico's President Vicente Fox. This is the latest attempt to convince the American people to pass the Senate's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (S. 2611), co-sponsored by Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Mel Martinez (R-FL), which provides amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. Action
Sensenbrenner: Bush 'Doesn't Get It'
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, who has pushed a tough border security bill through the House, accused President Bush on Wednesday of abandoning the legislation after asking for many of its provisions. "He basically turned his back on provisions of the House-passed bill, a lot of which we were requested to put in the bill by the White House," Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., angrily told reporters in a conference call. "That was last fall when we were drafting the bill, and now the president appears not to be interested in it at all." Read
US Senate Votes to Debar Convicted Migrants
The easy passage of both amendments to the Senate bill marked a continued scaling back of some of the more generous elements of the legislation, which has been supported by immigrant-rights activists. Read
Bill Permits 193 Million more Aliens by 2026
The Senate immigration reform bill would allow for up to 193 million new legal immigrants — a number greater than 60 percent of the current U.S. population — in the next 20 years, according to a study released yesterday. Read
Border Patrol: Fence Stops 95% of Illegals
The plan passed by the Senate May 17 to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border is far and away the most effective means to halt illegal immigration, according to the federal agents who have been struggling with the problem for decades. Read
Related
Nancy Reagan Letter Promotes Embryonic Stem Cell Research Funding Bill
Members of the U.S. Senate who support a bill to use taxpayer funds to pay for embryonic stem cell research are using a new letter written by former First Lady Nancy Reagan to promote their legislation. The letter calls on the Senate to approve the bill, despite a veto threat from President George W. Bush. Read
Hayden Faces Tough Confirmation Hearing for Top CIA Post
President Bush's CIA director-nominee, Gen. Michael Hayden, faces what undoubtedly will be the toughest public questioning of his 37-year government career at a Senate confirmation hearing. Read
$70 Billion Tax Cut Extension To Be Signed By Bush
President George W. Bush said that under the package, Americans are saved from an "enormous tax hike" that they "do not want and would not welcome." Read
How the Tax Bill Affects You
On Wednesday, several key tax provisions were signed into law by President Bush. How much you'll save depends on your income. Read
U.S. House Okays Military Prayers in Jesus' Name
The House of Representatives has approved a measure that would permit military chaplains to pray in Jesus' name at public events. The provision gained approval as part of a $513 billion Department of Defense authorization bill, which the House passed in a 396-31 vote last week. Read
Senators Urge Farmers to Rally Behind Aid Plan
U.S. farmers and ranchers should sign electronic petitions to support a Congressional proposal for $4 billion in agricultural disaster aid the White House has vowed to veto, a handful of senators said on Tuesday. The Senate approved the aid as part of a $108.9 billion spending bill to help pay for the war in Iraq. But the White House has threatened a veto because of the disaster aid and $10 billion in other spending it does not want. House and Senate negotiators still must write a final version of the bill. Read
Conservatives Appear Unmoved on Immigration
President Bush's plan to toughen border security may not be enough to overcome opposition within his own party to his "earned-citizenship" proposal, which critics decry as "amnesty," House conservatives said Tuesday. Read
CWA: Senate Disses Veteran Conservative Nominees to Vote on Liberal Rookie
Concerned Women for America (CWA) expressed concern today that Senate Leadership is scheduling a Senate vote on the very recent nomination of Milan Smith, brother of Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Oregon), to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit instead of moving nominees who've been waiting years for an up-or-down vote. "What's the explanation for having a vote on someone nominated only three months ago, who has no record to show that he meets the President's criterion of a 'a conservative strict-constructionist,' while conservative Judge Terry Boyle, the longest-waiting nominee in history, has been waiting more than five years for a vote," asked Jan LaRue, CWA's Chief Counsel. Read
U.S. Senate To Vote On Homosexual Marriage June 6TH
The most important vote in the Senate this year! The future of our children is at stake. Action
TBN Asks Viewers to Contact U.S. Senator John McCain on Potentially Harmful 'A La Carte' Cable Legislation
Trinity Broadcasting Network's (TBN) Vice President Paul Crouch, Jr. is asking viewers and supporters of Christian broadcasting to contact U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) concerning possible legislation that would negatively impact the quality of Christian television throughout America. Action
Senate Democrats Press for Life-Destroying Research
Call to fund embryonic stem-cell experiments ignores success with adult stem cells. Read
House Passes Bill to Offer $10 Million Prize for Hydrogen Fuel Technology
Scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs will be able to vie for a grand prize of $10 million, and smaller prizes reaching millions of dollars, under House-passed legislation to encourage research into hydrogen as an alternative fuel. Read
Arizona Open Seat Race Weighed Down by Illegal Border Entries
The candidates jockeying for prominence in Arizona's 8th Congressional District race are no different from any other Republican or Democrat in America now arguing over the best way to fix the country's "broken borders" — except one. They are vying to represent a district that is contending with thousands of non-Americans trying to sneak through its backyard every day. Read
Supreme Court Skips Tribal Case Seek Cash From New York
The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider whether the state of New York owed an Indian tribe about $250 million in a dispute over the seizure of tribal land. Read
Supreme Court to Consider Air Pollution Case
The Supreme Court said Monday it would consider a landmark air pollution case that tests a Clinton administration strategy of using courts to pursue coal-burning power companies. Read
Attorney Poised to Exercise All Options to Preserve Mt. Soledad Cross
Meanwhile, a local U.S. congressman has demonstrated he does not want to wait for the legal system to respond to save the cross. Representative Duncan Hunter has petitioned the White House to take the cross and the surrounding land under eminent domain, arguing such a move would complete the land-transfer initiative that began in late 2004 and was approved by San Diego voters in July 2005. Read
Father to Tell Congress About Holly Patterson's RU 486 Abortion Drug Death
Holly Patterson wasn't supposed to die. An active, vibrant 18 year-old California girl, Patterson found herself unexpectedly pregnant during the second week of August 2003. She was so distraught over her unplanned pregnancy that she sought help for depression from her family doctor the next month. Read
Hillary Clinton: Right Wingers to Blame for Abortion
2008 White House hopeful Hillary Clinton is blaming right wing "ideologues" for denying women access to contraceptives — leaving them no choice but to end their unwanted pregnancies with abortion. The move to withhold contraceptives "was started by a small group of extreme ideologues who claim the right to impose their personal beliefs on the overwhelming majority of the American people," Clinton declared in an e-mail to supporters on Wednesday. "They're waging this silent war on contraception by using the power of the White House and their right-wing allies in Congress," she complains, adding, "and so far, they're getting away with it." Read
Ethics Panel OKs Abramoff-Related Probe
In a burst of activity that ended 16 months of inaction, the House ethics committee on Wednesday opened investigations of a Republican and a Democrat who are subjects of federal bribery inquiries. One lawmaker is connected to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Read

Courts

SCOTUS Passes on Chance to Strengthen Parental Role
Maggie Gallagher of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy sees trouble on the horizon. "We're increasingly seeing an attempt of the state to assert that it controls and defines what marriage is, what a parent is, what a family is." Read
Judge Bans Public from Abortion-Records Case
Kan. attorney general is seeking access to clinic's patient information Read
Supreme Court Won't Allow Ohio Taxpayers to Challenge Tax Breaks
Taxpayers have no right to challenge nearly $300 million in tax breaks that Ohio's elected officials used to entice DaimlerChrysler AG to build a new plant in Toledo, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday. Read
Judge Strikes Down Georgia Same-Sex Ban
A Georgia judge has overturned the state's ban on gay marriage, as the wording on a 2004 referendum question dealt with more than one issue. Read
Court Rejects American Indian Argument for Hemp Farming
An American Indian treaty and U.S. law do not allow industrial hemp to be grown on an Indian reservation, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. Read
Minn. Supreme Court Lets Gambler Deduct Losses
A Minneapolis woman took a gamble with the Minnesota Supreme Court — and won. Estelle Busch claimed she worked 60 hours a week at gambling, and that her losses should be tax deductible. Read
Pro-Life Law Firm Files Brief in Partial-Birth Abortion Supreme Court Case
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Attorneys for a leading pro-life law firm have filed a legal brief in the upcoming Supreme Court case on the nation's ban on partial-birth abortions. The brief is the first of many that are expected to be filed by attorneys from the Bush administration and those on both sides of the abortion debate. Read
Kansas Attorney General Appeals Ruling On Abortion Businesses, Sexual Abuse
Topeka, KS (LifeNews.com) — Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline is appealing a federal judge's ruling that says abortion facilities are not required to follow a state law that mandates the reporting of sexual abuse of minors to state officials. Two Kansas abortion businesses have been trying to avoid that responsibility. Read
Judge Keeps Papers Sealed in AT&T Spy Suit
Secret documents that allegedly detail the surveillance of AT&T Inc. phone and e-mail lines under the Bush administration's domestic spying program can be used in a lawsuit against the telephone giant, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, but the records will remain sealed. Read
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Gay Custody Case
The Supreme Court said Monday it would not block a lesbian from seeking parental rights to a child she helped raise with her longtime partner. Read

Christianity/Pro-Family/Religion/Ethics

Da Vinci Debut Insults 85 Million Americans
The Reverend Rob Schenck (pronounced SHANK), and Evangelical minister and president of the National Clergy Council in Washington, DC, representing thousands of church leaders from Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox and Protestant traditions, released this statement today regarding the newly released film, "The Da Vinci Code." "With the debut of their film, The Da Vinci Code, film director Ron Howard and Sony Pictures will insult and deeply offend 85 million American Christians. Can anyone imagine the outcry had Ron Howard and Sony made a film based on The Protocols of Zion, a scurrilous attack on Jews and Judaism, or The Satanic Verses, for which author Salman Rushdie was accused of insulting Islam? I doubt it. Read
Arabic Christian TV Channel Goes Live on 10th Anniversary
The once-thought impossible Christian-targeted broadcast in the Arab world is soon to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The first Arabic Christian Television Channel SAT-7 announced that it will go live with its anniversary event on May 31 and plans to launch two new channels Read
Just Released Sahrawi Prisoners Thank American Christians
Western Sahara Resources Watch releases the following letter of thanks to American Christians... Read
A Blunted Spear? Controversy Over Film Challenges Evangelical Community
When the producers found out about Allen's sexual orientation, it was after they had offered him the part, but before they had begun shooting Allen's parts in the film. They began to wrestle with what they should do. To his credit, when he learned that evangelicals were not happy to discover that a homosexual man would be one of the lead actors in the missionary movie, Allen offered to back out. But Green, Saint, Ewing and Hanon all asked the actor to stay on. Read
Writings Show Early Christian Views on Jesus' Divinity
It's no surprise that the No. 2 man in the Vatican's powerful doctrine agency, Archbishop Angelo Amato, has urged a boycott of the film ''The Da Vinci Code,'' which opens Friday. He said Dan Brown's novel, on which it is based, is filled with "offenses, slander, historical and theological errors" concerning Jesus and Christianity. Read
Southern Baptists May See Presidential Showdown
An Oklahoma pastor may join the Southern Baptist Convention's presidential race, possibly marking the first contested election in 12 years for the nation's largest denomination. Read
America to Hear More from Billy Graham
The 87-year-old evangelist is coming back to the stage alongside son Franklin Graham to give his timeless message of the saving power of Jesus Christ. Read
China Bible Exhibit Welcomed, Questioned
A delegation from the China Christian Council/Three-Self Patriotic Movement (CCC/TSPM) held an official press conference in San Francisco's Chinatown on Wednesday to introduce the first-ever China Bible Ministry Exhibition in the United States and to meet Chinese churches in the Bay Area. Read

Abortion/Pro-Life

Operation Rescue Calls For Nationwide Day of Fasting and Prayer on Monday for Grand Jury Abortion Death Investigation
Operation Rescue is calling for a nationwide day of fasting and prayer on Monday, May 22, 2006, the day a Sedgwick County Grand Jury will convene to begin an investigation of criminal allegations against late-term abortionist George R. Tiller in the death of Christin A. Gilbert. Read
Groups Say Politics Put RU 486 on the Shelf ... and Politics Keeping It There
A women's pro-life group says pro-abortion forces and the maker of a dangerous abortion pill don't want the product pulled from the market, even while medical evidence against it mounts. Meanwhile, a government corruption watchdog group says it has proof the Clinton administration inappropriately used its political prowess to put the drug on the shelf in the first place. Read
Christian Doctor Critical of Physicians' Push for 'Morning-After' Pill
A Christian OB-GYN in Kentucky says the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is taking a bold step with its new "Ask Me" campaign. He contends the doctors association didn't examine all of the evidence before promoting the "morning-after" pill. Read
Catholic Medical Assn, Pro-Life Advocates Wants Vaccines That Don't Rely on Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The Catholic Medical Association and other pro-life advocates are calling for companies to produce new vaccines that do not use cells from babies who have been aborted. The call comes after a vaccine with such cells was used in Iowa to treat a recent outbreak of the mumps. Read
Abortion Business Coalition to Launch New Pro-Abortion Efforts in Canada
A trade group for abortion businesses in the U.S. and Canada has announced it will launch new efforts to promote pro-abortion public policy in Canada. Read
Silent No More Awareness Campaign
The Silent No More Awareness Campaign responded today to a report recently released by the Guttmacher Institute entitled "Abortion in Women's Lives." "To take this report as truth is to ignore our voices and our experiences," remarked Jennifer O'Neill, actress, author and celebrity spokesperson for the Campaign, "Anyone concerned about women's health should start by listening to us, the women who have been devastated by abortion... experience overrides theory." Read

Alcohol/Drugs/Health

Investigators Seize 52 Tons of Cocaine in Colombian-Based Drug Cartel Bust
One of the world's most hunted drug traffickers was among the 100 people arrested after a three-year investigation targeting an international Colombia-based drug cartel, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced Wednesday. Read
Tobacco Carcinogens Found in Urine of Smokers' Babies
Scientists have detected cancer-causing chemicals associated with tobacco smoke in the urine of infants whose parents smoke. Read
Potent Antibiotic to Target MRSA
Bacteria are developing resistance to current drugs Read

Education/Sex Ed/Teens/Children

Columbine Video Game Offends Victims' Relatives
An online game based on the Columbine High School massacre is drawing criticism from relatives of those who died in the 1999 attack, including a father who says it trivializes the actions of the two teen killers. Read
Cancer Vaccine Appears Safe, But Who Should Get It?
A Food and Drug Administration panel is meeting today to discuss a promising new vaccine that could stop viruses that cause nearly 70 percent of all cervical cancers and genital warts, but the potential distribution of the vaccine is causing political and cultural controversy. Other opponents go further. Hal Wallace, head of the Physicians Consortium, says the vaccine would send kids a message that, "you just take this shot and you can be as sexually promiscuous as you want." Read
A Textbook Case of Failure — Politically Driven Adoption System Yields Shallow, Misleading Materials
President Bush's No Child Left Behind initiative put almost every imaginable part of the U.S. education system under a microscope, establishing national standards for teacher training, student testing and basic funding. But glaring in its omission from the program is any significant examination of that most basic of classroom tools, the textbook. Read
Teen Prescription Drug Abuse 'Entrenched'
For a third straight year, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America study showed that about 1 in 5 teens have tried prescription drug painkillers such as Vicodin or OxyContin to get high — about 4.5 million teens. It also indicated that many teens feel experimenting with prescription drugs is safer than illegal highs. Read
Groups Condemn California Senate's Passage of Pro-Homosexual Education Bill
The governor of California could be all that stands in the way of a proposed new law that would endorse and promote the homosexual lifestyle in public schools statewide. The bill has already passed the California Senate and, if it gains Assembly approval as well, only a veto will be able to stop it. Read
Connerly Condemns Suspension of California's High School Exit Exams
A judge in Alameda County, California, has sided with attorneys who claim the state's high school exit exam, which California students currently must pass to graduate, discriminates against low-income students and those who have trouble speaking English. Read
'Blocked E-Mails' Lawsuit Against School Board Can Go Forward, Says Judge
The Florida Family Association is suing the Hillsborough County School Board in Tampa for setting up a block on all e-mail from the conservative group. Supporters of the group had sent about 60 e-mail messages to the board, urging it not to remove all religious holidays from the school calendar. Read
The Cross vs. the Vandals
The other day I ran across one of those stories that just makes me — well, let me tell the story before I finish that sentence.
Here's the story: At Northern Kentucky University, a professor led 10 or so students from her Contemporary British Literature class in a vandalism raid. Their target: a display of 400 crosses commemorating victims of abortion, set up by pro-life students (with the university's permission) on a hill in front of the local Fine Arts Building. This so enraged the prof, one Sally Jacobsen, that she and her students not only ripped up the crosses but, in an extra burst of spite, scattered them to trash cans all across the area — "to make it harder," she said, for the display to be recovered. Read
Health Agency Targets Pre-Teens with Sexual Information
The San Francisco Department of Health has developed a text-messaging service to provide children as young as 12 with "sexual health information" — without their parents' knowledge. The "SexInfo" service, according to CNSNews.com, allows users to seek sex-related information by using the typical shorthand employed in cell-phone text messaging: "SEXIBFO: reply with code for answrs. 'A1' if ur condom broke 'B2' if u think ur pregnant 'C3' to find out about STDs 'D4' to find out about HIV." Read
CWA: Parents, Teens Being Misled About Dangers of Premarital Sex
An official with Concerned Women for America says Americans must be educated with the truth about the consequences of sex before marriage. Read
Japanese School Lets Boy, 7, Enroll as a Girl
A young boy who believes he was born the wrong sex was allowed to enroll as a girl at an elementary school in southwestern Japan, a school official said Thursday. The seven-year-old boy entered the school as a girl in April 2005 after he was diagnosed with gender identity disorder at age six, a spokesman for the local school board said. The Japanese school year starts in April. Read
Colleges Chase as Cheats Shift to Higher Tech
With their arsenal of electronic gadgets, inventive students these days find it easier to cheat. Read
Students Suspended For Bringing 'Happy Crack' To School
Parents and at least one school board member said they believe an elementary school in Pennsylvania overreacted when it suspended 14 students earlier this month for mixing sugar and Kool-Aid crystals and calling it "Happy Crack." Read

God and Country/National Security/Politics/Economy

Executive Director of Foundations of Law PAC Rebukes President's Immigration Speech
The following statement from Steven T. Voigt, Foundations of Law PAC Executive Director, is in response to President Bush's address to the nation on immigration: It was a classic head-bob to the right followed by a dash to the left. Read
Speech
Driver Reportedly Killed After Speeding by Air Base Security
A driver sped through a checkpoint at an Air National Guard Base and led security on a high-speed chase on the grounds before officers shot at him, authorities said. Read
Soldier's Diary: Earning U.S. Citizenship in Iraq
U.S. Army Capt. Dan Sukman is serving a one-year deployment to Iraq. Read
Insurgents Shoot Down U.S. Copter; 2 Dead
The military also said American forces killed more than 40 insurgents, including a known al-Qaida operative, in five raids south of Baghdad in an area commonly known as the "Triangle of Death" because of the large number of insurgent attacks. Read
Bush to Call on Guard to Bolster Border
President Bush is sending thousands of National Guard troops to bolster patrols along the Mexican border, a move designed to win support for immigration reform from get-tough conservatives in his party. Bush, in a speech to the nation Monday, is proposing to use the troops in a supportive role to the Border Patrol while it builds up its resources to more effectively secure the 2,000-mile line between the U.S. and Mexico, White House spokesman Tony Snow said. Read
Do You Agree with Bush's Border Plan? Vote Here Action
Bush: U.S. Doesn't Eavesdrop on Phone Calls of Ordinary Americans
President Bush insisted Tuesday that the United States does not listen in on domestic telephone conversations among ordinary Americans. But he declined to specifically discuss the government's alleged compiling of phone records, or whether it would amount to an invasion of privacy. Read
U.S . Bans Weapons Sales to Venezuela
The United States is imposing a ban on weapons sales to Venezuela because of what it claims is a lack of support by President Hugo Chavez's leftist government on counterterrorism efforts, the State Department said Monday. Read
New England Swamped by Five Days of Rain
Worst flooding in 70 years. 'It seemed almost biblical' Read
Mr. Clinton's New Job
MichNews.com — Regardless of their political views, the American people believe in keeping politics out of decisions made about pension funds, private and public. That fact accepted, it must be true that they will take a few minutes to educate themselves about the obscenities associated with the nation's former Number One Politician as adviser to an investment company that does business with state employee pension funds. Read

Pornography/Homosexuality/Obscenity/Immorality/Sexual Abuse

Ford 'Proves' Commitment To Homosexual Agenda
Earlier this year, Ford Motor Company sponsored a program showing two lesbians passionately kissing each other. Now the automaker has made an in-your-face move against traditional marriage advocates with the historic step of advertising all their name brands in a homosexual magazine. This followed a request by AFA that Ford withdraw from supporting any homosexual magazine. Read
CBS Airing Pro-Gay Spots for Free
The announcements are being run during lucrative daytime soap operas. Read
All-Brand Ad in Homosexual Mag Signals Ford Motor's Loyalties, Says AFA
A spokesman for the American Family Association says the Ford Motor Company continues to push the envelope in its support of the homosexual agenda. He says that includes a new first: advertising in the latest issue of a raunchy homosexual magazine. Read
Black Church Responds to Internet Pornography Companies Targeting Black Communities
Black pastors across the country are taking a stand on Internet pornography companies that are targeting the Black community by highjacking domain names of Black leaders to use for pornography websites. Both MartinLutherKing.com and JesseJackson.com are now owned by an Internet pornography company known as Club Pink. Read
High School Gay Group's Sexual-Orientation Questionnaire Stirs Parent Backlash
A high school student club for homosexuals has raised the ire of parents through a "Heterosexual Questionnaire" that posed such questions as, "If you have never slept with someone of your same gender, then how do you know you wouldn't prefer it?" Read

Other News

Indonesian Volcano Spews Ash in Biggest Eruption Yet
Clouds of deadly ash, rock fragments and hot gas surged down Mount Merapi's slopes Monday as activity intensified to the highest level since the volcano rumbled back to life weeks ago. Read
Huge Chunk of Rock Falls From Mount St. Helens
The sheer rock fin emerging in Mount St. Helens' crater lost about a third of its northern face recently, but because lava keeps pushing to the surface, the height remained the same Thursday — around 330 feet. Read
Earthquakes Rattle Tsunami-Warning Drill
Several real earthquakes hit Indonesia, Tonga and New Zealand during the exercise. The largest, centered about 710 miles northeast of Auckland, New Zealand, generated a minor local tsunami that did not affect any populated areas, New Zealand national civil defense controller Mike O'Leary said. It did not affect the drill. Read
Israel 'Will Not Allow' Iran Nuclear Weapons
The brother of newly-elected Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said here on Monday that Israel "will not allow" Iran to acquire nuclear weapons capability, and will launch a unilateral military strike if necessary to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities. Read
Palestinian Forces March in Show of Force
Thousands of police loyal to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas marched in a show of force Thursday, a day after the Hamas-led government deployed 3,000 heavily armed militants in a daring challenge. Read

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