Weekly Issues Alert

July 21 - 27

"If men of wisdom and knowledge, of moderation and temperance, of patience, fortitude and perseverance, of sobriety and true republican simplicity of manners, of zeal for the honor of the Supreme Being...are chosen to fill the seats of government, we may expect that our affairs will rest on a solid and permanent foundation." ---Samuel Adams

North Carolina General Assembly

House, Senate To Work Out Differences On Sex Offender Tracking

House Rejects Senate Bill Monday, Sending It To Conference Committee Read
N.C. House Gives First OK To Help Drivers With Revoked Licenses

Motorists who have had their driver's license revoked for at least two years could receive limited driving privileges to get to work or the grocery store in legislation that the state House approved Tuesday in an initial vote. Read
House Approves Bill Barring Illegal Immigrants From State Work

The House overwhelmingly endorsed a bill Tuesday that would force state agencies to determine the legal status of all new employees, but the action late in the legislative term makes it a longshot the bill will become law. Read
Cheaper Wine, Beer Could be in the Cards

Legislation would allow stores to offer more targeted discounts on alcohol Read
I-540 Toll Road Closer To Lawmakers' Final Approval

State lawmakers are close to giving final approval to a bill that would allow the first toll road to be built in North Carolina — and the Triangle area. Read
N.C. Lawmakers Continue To Reform Campaign Advertising

The General Assembly moved further Thursday to force independent organizations or individuals to reveal more information about their spending in support of political campaigns. Read
Legislators Still Interested In N.C. Government Reform Panel

When lawmakers agreed in 1991 to undertake a performance audit of state government, North Carolina was in the middle of a recession that had created a then-record budget shortfall of $1.2 billion. Read
Price-Gouging Enforcement Expanded By N.C. General Assembly

The state would be able to sue people accused of gouging prices during times of economic disruptions, such as a hurricane elsewhere that raises gas prices in North Carolina, under a bill that received final legislative approval Wednesday. Read
N.C. Considers Ban on Out-of-State Garbage

The N.C. House of Representatives is wrestling with whether to vote on an 18-month moratorium on mega-landfills, enormous dumps that could import thousands of tons of waste per day from along the East Coast. Read
Related
Final Version Of Ethics Bill Ready For Vote

Months of debate, research and tense discussion are nearly over, as state legislators finalized changes to ethics and lobbying rules on Wednesday. Read
N.C. Lawmakers OK Commission To Investigate Claims Of Innocence

Lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a bill that would create a first-in-the-nation commission to investigate convicts' claims of innocence, perhaps leading to overturned convictions. Read
Lee Act Rewrite Given Final N.C. Legislative Approval

North Carolina's primary economic incentives tool has undergone its largest rewrite since it passed 10 years ago as the General Assembly agreed Tuesday to improve benefits for poor and impoverished urban areas. The rewrite of the William S. Lee Act also consolidates per-job tax credits. Read
Bill Would Allow State Leaders to Remove Lottery Commissioners

North Carolina lottery commissioners could be stripped of their appointments for just cause under a bill recommended Tuesday by a House committee. Read
NC House Agrees To Study Gasoline As Regulated Public Utility

North Carolina lawmakers could order a study of the state's petroleum industry to decide whether gasoline, home heating oil and other products should be regulated like electricity and natural gas. Read
N.C. Lawmakers Try To Wrap Up Session

The Legislature steered Wednesday toward adjourning by the end of the week as legislative leaders agreed to an ethics and lobbying bill and senators returned after a nearly weeklong absence. Read

North Carolina Courts

Speaker's Appeal Over Incomplete Checks Set For Aug. 1

A Wake County judge will hear an appeal next month from attorneys for House Speaker Jim Black, who is seeking to reverse a State Board of Elections ruling that his campaign took $6,800 in illegal donations from his fellow optometrists. Read
Judge Rules N.C. Anti-Cohabitation Law Unconstitutional

A state judge has ruled that North Carolina's 201-year-old law barring unmarried couples from living together is unconstitutional. Read
North Carolina Judge Lowers Great Moral Standard (editorial by Rev. Mark Creech, Ex. Director, CAL)

A sheriff's dispatcher in Pender County, North Carolina, Deborah Hobbs was living with her boyfriend when Sheriff Carson Smith ordered her to marry, move out, or give up her employment. Hobbs decided to quit. Read
Wake County Judge Hears N.C. House Candidate Challenges

A Wake County judge won't rule for several days on whether Republican candidates in two state House primaries should have been disqualified because elections officials said they didn't meet residency requirements to run. Read

Other North Carolina News

26 People Arrested In Raleigh Prostitution Sting

Raleigh police arrested 26 people in a prostitution sting on 45 charges. Authorities said the majority of the charges relate to prostitution. They targeted different locations at four different times of day. Read
Kidnappers Demand $100,000 For Release Of 2 N.C. Missionaries

Kidnappers have demanded $100,000 for the release of two North Carolina missionaries seized on their way to church in Haiti's capital, a U.N. official said Thursday. Read
Bloods Gang Member Arrested In Raleigh

Members of the U.S. Marshals' Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested a man who had been sought in connection with a July 2005 slaying in Virginia. Read
N.C. To Be Home For Revived Indian Motorcycle Company

Indian Motorcycle Company, once a fierce competitor with Harley Davidson, is coming back into business, and its new home will be in North Carolina. Indian Motorcycle and Chris-Craft Corporation, a boat manufacturing firm that dates to 1874, said Thursday they will build new manufacturing facilities in Kings Mountain, N.C. Governor Mike Easley announced the new plants. Read
School Board Terminates Contract With Missing Attorney

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board has terminated its contract with a missing attorney. Law enforcement officials said John McCormick disappeared last week at about the same time authorities started investigating nearly $1.3 million in missing money. Read
State Correction Officers Receiving Weapon Upgrades

State correction officers are getting new guns, shortly after a Northampton County court was closed for three days following a courtroom shootout. Read
GlaxoSmithKline Profit up 14 Percent

The British drugmaker, which has a U.S. headquarters in Research Triangle Park and employs about 6,000 in the Triangle, had previously expected a 10 percent profit gain this year. Read
Duke Selects Global Health Institute Chief

Landing Yale professor Michael Merson as the first director of Duke University's groundbreaking new Global Health Institute was quite a coup. Read
N.C. Man Finds his 50th Diamond in Ark. State Park Diamond Mine

A North Carolina man who moved to Arkansas last year to devote five days a week to scouring Crater of Diamonds State Park for the gems has found his 50th diamond, the park said Tuesday. Mike Ellison, from Kings Mountain, N.C., found a 2.18-carat white diamond Sunday after searching in the East Drain area of the park's 37 1/2-acre diamond search area. The diamond is the largest of all his finds. Read
Triangle's First Ethanol Station Opens On Friday

Holmes Oil Company, which is based in Chapel Hill, will begin selling E85 fuel on Friday at its Cruizers Convenience Store on Sedwick Road in Durham. Read

Congress

Free to Fly the Flag, Bush Says

President Bush on Monday signed a bill that would bar condominium and homeowner associations from restricting how the American flag can be displayed. Sponsored by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., the resolution would prohibit those groups from preventing residents from displaying an American flag on their own property. It was passed unanimously by both the House and the Senate. Read
President Signs One Stem Cell Bill; Vetoes H.R. 810

On July 18, the Senate passed three bills on stem cell research: S. 2754, the Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act; S. 3504, Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006; and H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. Read
Related
Senate Votes to Protect Youth From Predators

Bill would create national sex offender registry, increase law enforcement and toughen penalties. Read
Sen. Specter Pushes Bill to Sue President Bush

A powerful Republican committee chairman who has led the fight against President Bush's signing statements said Monday he would have a bill ready by the end of the week allowing Congress to sue him in federal court Read
CWA Opposes Proposed Amendments to the Child Custody Protection Act

Concerned Women for America (CWA) strongly opposes the adoption of the Menendez, Feinstein and Boxer Amendments to the Child Custody Protection Act (CCPA), S. 403. If signed into law, the CCPA would make it a crime for minors to be transported across state lines for an abortion to circumvent parental notification laws. Unfortunately, three proposed amendments to the final bill seek to undermine the strength of the overall legislation. CWA strongly opposes any attempts to weaken the original intent of the CCPA. The Feinstein Amendment undermines parental consent by allowance for grandparents and members of the clergy, whereas the Boxer Amendment invalidates the bill in cases of incest. Read
20 Years for Disguising Porn/Harmful Sites As Child-friendly: Senate Legislation

Luring children to websites containing sexual content by using child-friendly words may soon be a felony, under new legislation approved by the U.S. Senate last week Read
Senator Ditches Bill Tied to 'Superstate'

Makes decision after WND points out link to 'North American Union' Read
Congress Advances Legislation to Protect Mt. Soledad Cross

Heartening news for those fighting to preserve a San Diego landmark. Read
Internet-Gambling Bill Still Alive in the Senate

Legislation faces tremendous opposition. Read
Law Panel Criticizes Bush for Saying He Can Ignore Bills He's Signing into Law

A panel of legal scholars and lawyers assembled by the American Bar Association is sharply criticizing the use of "signing statements" by President Bush that assert his right to ignore or not enforce laws passed by Congress...The panel members described the development as a serious threat to the Constitution's system of checks and balances, and they urged Congress to pass legislation permitting court review of such statements. Read
Child Molesters Face Tough Penalties Under New Bill

Child molesters would face the death penalty for killing their victims and a felony charge for failing to update their whereabouts with authorities under a new bill. Read
Senate Passes Voting Rights Act

The U.S. Senate voted 98-0 in Washington Thursday to extend the Voting Rights Act for 25 years. President George W. Bush is expected to sign the bill within a few days. He featured the expected Senate passage earlier Thursday in a speech to the NAACP. Read
Congressional Democrats Say Pregnancy Centers Lie to Women

Pro-lifers say they offer the truth about abortion. Read
Congress Considers National School-Choice Program

Scholarships would offer hope for some students in failing schools. Read
Hillary Gathers an Army

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign army has increased its ranks to 50 staffers and more than 20 consultants, specialists in everything from fund-raising to speech-writing to hairstyling and makeup. Read
Congress' 'Black' Budgets Scrutinized

Cunningham Case Reveals Abuses Hidden Inside Intelligence Bills Read
Pledge Protection Act Passes In House

On July 19, the House of Representatives passed the Pledge Protection Act (H.R. 2389) by a vote of 260-167, which was a 17 vote increase from the previous vote. We urge the Senate to act promptly. Read
Judicial Nominees Still Face Hostile Senate Liberals

July 20, 2006 — As of today, Bush judicial nominee William G. Myers has gone for two years without a second cloture vote on his nomination to the federal bench. Read
Cuba Drills for Oil 60 Miles Off U.S. Coast

With Congress deadlocked over allowing oil drilling in presently restricted areas of the Gulf of Mexico, communist Cuba is already drilling for oil 60 miles off the coast of Florida. Republicans in Congress have tried repeatedly in the past decade to open up the outer continental shelf to exploration. There are an estimated 45 billion barrels in oil reserves and 232 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves in banned drilling areas of the Gulf, and Florida's waters hold the promise of major energy finds. Read
Rep. Pence, Sen. Hutchison Plan Immigration Alternative

Two Republican U.S. lawmakers Tuesday offered a compromise immigration plan they said would ensure border security and allow some of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants to work legally in the United States without granting amnesty. Read
Senate to Pass Parental Notification Law

A pregnant 14-year-old from Lancaster, Pa., decides to keep and raise her baby. Her boyfriend's parents drive her to a New Jersey abortion clinic to get around her home state's parental notification law. They then refuse to take her home until she ends her pregnancy. Read

Courts

Wash. Court Upholds Gay Marriage Ban

The state Supreme Court upheld Washington's ban on gay marriage Wednesday, saying lawmakers have the power to restrict marriage to unions between a man and woman. Read
First Statewide Judicial Voter Guide to be Published in Florida

Florida Family Policy Council Announces the Florida Judicial Accountability Project Read
Judge Who Told Illegal Immigrant To Leave Court Is Dismissed

A judge who threatened deportation to Mexico for an illegal immigrant seeking a restraining order against her husband has been dropped from the roster of part-time judges used by the Los Angeles County Superior Court...Experts said that Fink as a state judge had no authority to order an arrest for violation of a federal immigration law. "I did not want this woman deported," Fink said. "Now I understand that the court does not get involved in immigration status as long as it is not thrust upon it." Read
Officials Defend Prison Ministry — Despite Federal Judge Ruling

July 20, 2006 — In spite of a federal judge ruling that a prison ministry is unconstitutional, Minnesota corrections officials still support InnerChange ministry's work in state prisons. Read
NYC Sues Tobacco Wholesalers (AP)

The city sued seven tobacco wholesalers on Monday, claiming they distributed cigarettes on Indian reservations without collecting tens of millions of dollars in taxes. A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn alleges that the wholesalers — six in New York state and one in Vermont — routinely sell cigarettes at about a 50 percent discount by excluding $35 per carton in taxes. Read
Judge Says Book on Cuba Must Stay

A federal judge Monday temporarily barred the Miami-Dade County School District from removing a children's book on Cuba from school libraries. U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which is seeking to keep the book, "Vamos a Cuba" ("A Visit to Cuba"), in schools. Gold's decision would keep the book on the shelves until the case goes to trial. Last month, the Miami-Dade school board voted to remove the book from its elementary schools after a parent complained that its depiction of life in the communist nation was overly rosy. The board then expanded that order to all 24 books in the series on children living around the globe. Read

Christianity/Pro-Family/Religion/Ethics

Can Prayer Help Reduce Crime? — Christian Defense Coalition Calls for Week of Prayer After 'Crime Emergency' is Declared in Washington, DC

The Christian Defense Coalition is calling for a week of prayer and fasting after a "crime emergency" was declared in Washington D.C. The group is inviting the faith community to join them for prayer every evening at 7:30 P.M. under a large tent being set up on the National Mall. Read
Jerusalem's Only 24/7 Christian Radio Station Provides News from a Biblical Perspective to U.S. Via Sky Angel

As the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict persists, U.S. subscribers to the Sky Angel Christian satellite TV and radio service are receiving the news from a perspective that unlike most mainstream reports hits closer to their faith: a biblical viewpoint straight from Jerusalem's only 24/7 Christian radio station — a ministry that has suffered much since first establishing operations in South Lebanon in 1979. Read
Faith-Based Initiatives Criticized by Government Report

Advocates say the programs need to be defended from attack. Read
On Public Land, Sunday in the Park With Prayer

Pennsylvania, the only state with a program for Christian worship services in parks, prohibits proselytizing. Read
Why Are There So Many Mega-Churches in the United States? And Why Do We See the Pastors All Over the Media?

Bible Expert and Author Jack Heckathorne comments on Mega-church growth in the US. Why do we see so many Mega-church pastors interviewed in the mainstream media? Satan's five "I wills" But you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars (angels) of God, and I will sit on the mount of the assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the most high." (Isaiah. 14:13-14) Read
Trying to Keep Child Care in the Family

States are increasingly focusing on moving children from foster care into homes with grandparents or other relatives. Read
Evangelical Scholars Release Paper Challenging Science, Ethics, of Global Warming Policy

Amid mounting controversy among evangelical Christians over global warming and climate policy, the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance presented "A Call to Truth, Prudence and Protection of the Poor: An Evangelical Response to Global Warming" at the National Press Club Tuesday morning. The paper is a refutation of the Evangelical Climate Initiative's "Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action," released last February, and a call to climate policies that will "better protect the world's poor and promote their economic development." Read
Baptist Group Ex-Leaders Guilty of Fraud

Two former executives of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, which collapsed in what has been called the largest nonprofit bankruptcy filing in the nation's history, have been convicted of fraud. Prosecutors estimated 11,000 investors, most of them elderly, were defrauded in the 1980s and 1990s. Read
Paganism Gaining Popularity in Prison (AP)

A pagan religion that some experts say can be interpreted as encouraging violence is gaining popularity among prison inmates, one of whom is scheduled to be executed this week for killing a fellow prisoner at the foot of an altar. Read
County Sued for Using Zoning Laws to Bar Church's Religious Classes

A non-denominational megachurch is suing a Virginia county in an effort to keep offering classes to students pursuing religious degrees through a nearby seminary Read
Evangelical Churces Florishing in Europe — VOA

Evangelical Christianity is flourishing in Europe. France has witnessed an eight-fold increase in Evangelical Christians during the past half century, from roughly 50,000 to 400,000. Those numbers are small in absolute terms. Evangelicals represent less than two-percent of the European population. Read
Indonesia: Sole Survivor of Muslim Beheading Attack Receives Medical Treatment (Voice of the Marytrs)

Noviana Malewa, the only girl to escape the malicious beheadings that took place in Indonesia on October 29, 2005 in Central Sulawesi, will receive treatment from VOMedical. The surgery is to alleviate the constant pain she still endures from a sword slash to her face and neck by militant Muslims. Read
China House Church Leaders "Likely" In Labor Camp

There were fears Tuesday, July 25, that four key leaders of a house church movement in China's central-western province of Sichuan were sent to a hard labor camp following their detention late last month. Read

Abortion/Pro-Life

Stem Cell Work Gets States' Aid After Bush Veto

Two governors have offered state money for research, and the issue has sprung to the forefront of crucial elections. Read
Oregon Ballot Proposition for Parental Notification on Abortion Qualifies

Oregon voters will have the opportunity to vote on whether they think parents should be notified when their minor teenage daughters are considering an abortion. Backers of parental notification turned in significantly more signatures than were necessary to qualify for ballot status. Read
South Dakota Abortion Ban Sponsor Harassed, Gets Death Threats

The state representative who was one of the lead sponsors of a measure that would ban all abortions in the state has become the victim of repeated harassment. He has received harassing calls and emails at both the legislature and his home and they have included death threats. Read

Alcohol/Drugs/Health

Kids Busted With Drug-Filled Smiley Face Gumballs

arijuana packaged in yellow, smiley face gumballs found at a high school was a first for local, state and federal investigators. Read
USS Ronald Reagan Crew to be Tested for TB

All 4,800 crew members of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and 1,200 family and friends will be screened for tuberculosis because an initial round of tests showed a small number of people were infected, Navy officials said. Read
Web-Based Drug Abuse Rising

A growing number of offshore Internet sites offer easy access to prescription drugs. Read

Education/Sex Ed/Teens/Children

Students Bringing Bibles to America's Public Schools: 9th Annual Nationwide Scriptures in Schools Week September 24-30

Academic Evangelism — "Tote 'em and Quote 'em!"

Christian students, teachers, and support staff in public schools across America will be bringing their Bibles to class during the ninth annual "Scriptures in Schools Week" September 24-30. Bible references will be used to complete various in-class assignments and homework. The nationwide kick-off event is designed to establish the habit for students to bring Bibles to class all year long and make the Bible a commonplace text in America's schools once again. Read
CDC: Sexual Activity Among Teens is Dropping

Experts credit abstinence education. Read
Most States Fail Demands Set Out in Education Law

Failure to meet standards set by the No Child Left Behind Act leaves several states in danger of losing some aid. Read
Harvard Introduces Third Gender

Prospective applicants to prestigious Harvard Business School no longer have to be of the male or female gender. One pro-family leader in Washington, DC, is criticizing the school for legitimizing transgenderism. Read

Gambling

The Gambling Is Virtual; the Money Is Real

For the first time, Washington has succeeded in temporarily shutting down a publicly owned gambling site, and its effort has operators' share prices plummeting...Critics say that online gambling is the equivalent of putting a slot machine in every home, providing an easy chance to lose money with a few mouse clicks, all without the social controls at a bricks-and-mortar casino. Read

God and Country/National Security/Politics/Economy

U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan (AP)

As of July 24, 2006, at least 257 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. Of those, the military reports 158 were killed by hostile action. Read
U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq (AP)

As of Monday, July 24, 2006, at least 2,567 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,027 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers. Read
Marines Recognize New Kind of Fighting

Standards for awarding Combat Action Ribbons are revised to honor those who come under fire from roadside bombs and mortars. Read
USS Ronald Reagan Crew to be Tested for TB

All 4,800 crew members of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and 1,200 family and friends will be screened for tuberculosis because an initial round of tests showed a small number of people were infected, Navy officials said. Read
Minutemen Founder: 30 Million Illegals in U.S.

The Minutemen border-watch group is coming to New York to demand that the federal government tighten security at our borders — and to promote an eye-opening new book co-authored by Minutemen founder Jim Gilchrist. Read
U.S. Gives Israel Timeline for Assault on Hezbollah, Official Says

The United States has given Israeli forces between 10 and 14 days to finish dealing Hezbollah "a strategic blow," a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official told FOX News, as both Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerrillas continued to volley rockets across the Lebanon-Israel border. Read
US Urges Moscow to Reconsider Venezuela Arms Deal

The United States Tuesday again urged the Russian government to reconsider a $1 billion military aircraft sale to Venezuela. U.S. officials say Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' weapons plans exceed the country's defensive needs. Read
U.S. Reaches Out To Lebanon

Secretary Of State Made Surprise Five-Hour Beirut Visit To Launch Diplomatic Effort Read
U.S. Steps Up Raids on 'Death Squads' in Baghdad

U.S. military officials announced that they had stepped up a campaign against "death squads" operating in the capital, launching 19 raids as sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites left dozens dead and wounded throughout Iraq. Read
Border Clashes Intensify as Israel Hunts Militants

Some of the most intense clashes so far between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants came as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in the region. Read
Wisconsin Lawmakers Want Islam Teacher Booted

After Kevin Barrett started talking about a class he planned to teach this fall on Islam, the little-known lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found himself in the middle of a fierce political battle between the school and state politicians. Read
Top Iraqi's White House Visit Shows Gaps With U.S.

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is expected to make requests that clash sharply with President Bush's foreign policy. Read
Marines Land On MySpace

U.S. Marine Corps Using Social Networking Site As Recruiting Tool Read
Israeli Targets in U.S. on Heightened Alert

Fear of attacks by Hezbollah sleeper agents as military campaign in Lebanon continues Read
Piercing Port Security Easy as Hitching a Ride

..In the only instance where identification was sought, flashing an expired driver's license was all it took before a uniformed guard waved us through the gate. Past that point, we had access to secure areas where cargo ships tie up under giant cranes and where thousands of containers move into and out of the United States. Terrorists could enter the same way. Indeed, with the lax controls we found, a half-dozen men and several thousand pounds of equipment or explosives could enter in a supposedly empty truck.
Read
Employers Held on Charges of Harboring Illegal Aliens

Employers in three states targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as part of an enhanced effort to combat illegal-alien employment schemes have been arrested for, or pleaded guilty to, charges of harboring illegal aliens. Read
IRS May Cut Lawyers Who Audit the Rich

The federal government is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half the lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who audit tax returns of some of the wealthiest Americans, specifically those subject to gift and estate taxes when they transfer parts of their fortunes to their children and others. Read
Saudis Ask Bush to Intervene in Mideast

White House officials said President Bush remains opposed to an immediate cease-fire to stop violence in the Middle East, despite personal pleas from ally Saudi Arabia that he help stop the bloodshed. Poll
Wary Iraqis Are Recruited as Policemen

U .S. recruiting efforts are complicated by a vicious insurgent campaign to assassinate and intimidate the members of Iraq's fledgling security services. Read
Las Vegas Outlaws Feeding Homeless People

The Las Vegas City Council has unanimously passed a law making it a crime to feed the homeless at city parks...Marshals recently began arresting the homeless in parks under a campaign to force people who are unable or unwilling to care for themselves to get mental help. Read
Orlando Bans Feeding Homeless — ABC News

City officials have banned charitable groups from feeding homeless people in parks downtown, arguing that transients who gather for weekly meals create safety and sanitary problems for businesses. Read
Big L.A. Rally Backs Israel

Thousands rally in support of Israel. About 100 take Lebanon's side in the Mideast conflict. Read
Remarks by the President at Naturalization Ceremony

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thanks for coming. Thanks for letting me come back, General, proud to be here. I'm really looking forward to witnessing what is going to be a very uplifting ceremony. In a few moments, these men will swear the oath to become citizens of the United States of America. As part of the ceremony they will promise to support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. This isn't going to be the first time these men have made such a promise. They took a similar oath when they became soldiers of the United States Army. And their presence here bears witness that they kept their word so that others might be free. Read
Wachovia Breaks Ties with Mideast Bank

Wachovia Bank terminated its relationship with a bank in Lebanon over a terrorist money-raising scheme. Read

Pornography/Homosexuality/Obscenity/Immorality/Sexual Abuse

American Youth Protest MTV in New York City

Stand True Ministries (www.standtrue.com) will make New York City a stop on their annual summer tour to protest at MTV studios, and pray at local abortion mills. Friday morning, July 28, Stand True will begin a prayer walk in New York City stopping at several abortion clinics. They will end their walk with a three hour protest in front of MTV studios in Times Square at 11:00 AM. Read
Gay-Marriage Supporters Launch Ad Campaign (AP)

Three major gay-rights groups are taking out full-page advertisements starting Tuesday in 50 newspapers nationwide declaring their determination to keep fighting for same-sex marriage rights despite recent court setbacks. Read
Separation of 'Goodridge' Lesbians Confirms TVC Fears About 'Gay' Marriage

"It comes as no surprise to me that the two lesbians who were at the center of the gay marriage controversy in Massachusetts have now separated after only two years," said Traditional Values Coalition Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon today. "Homosexual relationships are notoriously unstable — and many male homosexual activists openly admit they don't want monogamous marriages." Read
Archdiocese's Gay-Marriage Brief Rejected

Sixteen months after the gay-marriage case was argued before the state Supreme Court, the Seattle Roman Catholic Archdiocese filed a friend-of-the-court brief — which the court promptly rejected because it was late. The archdiocese filed its amicus brief Thursday, arguing that granting same-sex marriage would violate the church's ability to freely practice its religion. The Catholic Church believes marriage should be between a man and a woman and questioned whether allowing gay people to wed could, as one example, force priests to perform such ceremonies. Read
DNC Hatches Plan to Combat State-Marriage Initiatives

Gay publication reveals secret strategy. Read
CWA Says Marriott Should Stop Blowing Smoke About Porn

Concerned Women for America (CWA) says that if the Marriott hotels care so much about their customers, as indicated in their recent decision to ban smoking from hotel rooms, they should stop offering hard-core porn in their hotel rooms. Read
At Swinging Convention, Sex is on Everyone's Mind

Vera Rhodes has come a long way from her conservative upbringing in Pennsylvania's Amish community. Read
Majority of Adults Feel it is not Morally Acceptable to View Pornographic Websites and Videos

Almost three in four (73%) U.S. adults think that viewing pornographic websites and videos is morally unacceptable, according to a survey commissioned by Morality in Media and conducted by Harris Interactive. This compares with 21% who feel that viewing pornographic websites and videos is morally acceptable. The question and overall breakdown of responses are as follows: "Do you consider it to be morally acceptable to view pornographic websites and videos?" Read
While Homosexuals Claim They Make up 10% of the Population, the Reality is Closer to 1-2%.

(A 2005) report from the Centers for Disease Control's National Center for Health Statistics reveals that only 2.3% of the population considers themselves homosexual. The statistics come from a 2002 National Survey of Family Growth and are based on 12,571 interviews with men and women ages 15-44 years of age. (The findings were reported in WorldNetDaily, September 16, 2005). Read
Homosexual 'Younger Brother' Study Debunked

July 20, 2006 — A study published by a Anthony Bogaert, a Canadian psychologist, claims to have found evidence for a biological cause for homosexual conduct. His research alleges to have discovered a possible linkage between multiple brothers and a younger brother developing a homosexual orientation. Read

Other News

Iran: Israel's End Near — Are We Next?

Mahmound Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, said Sunday that "Israel pushed the button of its own destruction by attacking Lebanon." In Tehran, the Iranian government has approved billboards which say it is the duty of every Muslim to help "wipe out" Israel. That type of thinking doesn't sound like a government not involved in a war against Israel. Read
Iranian Report: Suicide Bombers En Route to Lebanon — Ynet News

Iran is set to send the first group of suicide bombers to Lebanon on Wednesday, the Iranian news agency ILNA reported. Read
Hezbollah: War With Israel Will Widen

Hezbollah's representative in Iran struck a defiant tone Monday, warning that his Islamic militant group plans to widen its attacks on Israel until "no place" is safe for Israelis. Hossein Safiadeen also reinforced earlier threats by Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah to widen the scope of attacks, which have included unprecedented missile strikes deep into northern Israel..."We are going to make Israel not safe for Israelis. There will be no place they are safe," Safiadeen told a conference that included the Tehran-based representative of the Palestinian group Hamas and the ambassadors from Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian Authority. Read
Olmert: Media Biased, Doesn't Show 'Murderous Viciousness' of Hezbollah

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert accused the international media Sunday of bias by not properly portraying the "murderous viciousness" of the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah in its war with Israel. "The massive, brutal and murderous viciousness of Hezbollah is unfortunately not represented in its full intensity on television screens outside of Israel," Olmert told reporters. "A twisted image is presented, where the victim is presented as an aggressor" . . . Read
Ambassador: 'Iran Opens War With the West'

As Israeli Defense Forces tanks and troops roll into Lebanon in yet another ramping-up of the Middle East crisis, an Israeli statesman warns that the conflagration is not just a local one — the whole region and the world is at risk. On the phone to NewsMax from Jerusalem, Dore Gold, Israel's ambassador to the U.N. from 1997 to 1999, left little doubt that Israel knows that it is locked in a deadly struggle with Iran — albeit through that country's proxy in Lebanon, the Hezbollah. Read
Saudi King Offers Lebanon $1.5bn — BBC

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has promised to give $500m to Lebanon to pay for reconstruction. He also approved $1bn for the Central Bank of Lebanon to support the economy. Read
Mom Slain Visiting Shrine to Her Murdered Brother

A young mother died early yesterday after she was gunned down while kneeling to light a candle in her slain brother's memory, her life's blood spilling on the very spot where her beloved brother was killed exactly four years ago — almost to the hour. Read
Mexico: Decriminalize Illegal Immigration

Federal legislators from Mexico's ruling party have introduced a bill to eliminate jail terms for illegal migration into Mexico, saying they want to send a message that immigrants should not be treated like criminals. The bill says illegal immigrants should be fined instead of jailed. Under Mexico's law, enacted in 1974, illegal migrants can face two to five years in prison, although authorities rarely impose such penalties. Read
Israel Weighs Foreign Troops on Border

Israeli officials expressed interest in a multinational armed force as the military again pounded southern Lebanon from the air and ground and Hezbollah rockets hit northern Israel. Read
Iran Soldiers Killed in Lebanon Transferred to Tehran via Syria

Follows info Revolutionary Guard units assisting Hezbollah against Jewish state Read
A New Generation of Israeli Soldiers Confronts the Unknown Across the Lebanon Border

Ohad, 22, is a narrow-faced warrior who has spent four years in the Israeli Army and operated tanks in the Palestinian territories, tough duty for any soldier. But going across the Lebanese border brought a new set of anxieties. Read
U.N.: 250,000 Child Soldiers Fighting

More than 250,000 children are fighting in wars around the world, while tens of thousands of girls are sexually exploited by combatants, a senior U.N. official said. Many young fighters are recycled from conflict to conflict, Undersecretary-General Radhika Coomaraswamy told the U.N. Security Council on Monday. She cited the case of a Sierra Leone boy named Abou, who was abducted from school by rebels at age 11. By the time he was demobilized at 15, he was a rebel commander. Read

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Index of Weekly Issues Alerts

2007

2006