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AFA/ACTIVISM
AFA staffers in media spotlight
Media outlets around the United States
have been seeking comment and debate from AFA in recent weeks, proving
AFA members’ collective voices are being heard and are given
weight.
AFA’s Center for Law & Policy (CLP)
was called upon twice to discuss current events issues, while AFA
Journal staff members contributed to a cable network special
and to a TV Guide feature story.
In August, CLP attorney Joe Murray appeared
on a segment of Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor to
discuss new videotape of Disney’s "Gay Days." The
segment focused upon new video footage obtained by Fox News from
the Christian Action Network showing very graphic depictions of
simulated sex acts by "Gay Days" participants. Some of
the video was shot in Disney World. Murray gave AFA’s response
to the video, and responded to comments made by a staff writer for
the Orlando Business Journal who was also featured in the segment
with host Bill O’Reilly.
Also in August, CLP senior trial attorney Brian
Fahling appeared on an episode of Statewide Live, a current
events panel discussion show on Mississippi Public Television. Fahling
discussed and debated the fight for same-sex marriage in the wake
of the Supreme Court’s decision in Lawrence v. Texas, striking
down that state’s anti-sodomy law.
AFA Journal News Editor Ed Vitagliano
was featured in a special on Country Music Television. The special
focused upon the growing use of sex and nudity in country music
videos. Vitagliano pointed out in the segment that, while sex was
a cheap and easy way to attract an audience, it had real-life consequences
outside marriage and could backfire with many country music fans.
In the August 2-8 edition of TV Guide, AFA
Journal Editor Randall Murphree was quoted in a story discussing
the downward spiral of network television. The story reviewed how,
in order to boost declining ratings, networks have been airing more
sexual- and violence-themed fare, and allowing more coarse and vulgar
language in shows even during the traditional family hour.
AFA Journal’s Ed Vitagliano and
Pat Centner have received honors for their writing. Vitagliano earned
second place from Evangelical Press Association for "Who you
calling an extremist?" (08/02, AFA Journal. Centner
received first place in non-fiction writing at Southern Christian
Writers Conference for "The Christimas Violin" (11-12/02,
AFA Journal).
Military thanks AFA
for support of troops through letter writing campaign
"Dear American Soldier" was a successful operation,
with some 30,000 cards and letters being sent to U.S. military personnel.
It was so successful, in fact, that AFA has been honored for its
efforts and support of the U.S. military.
Chaplain (Cpt.) Aaron D. Nowland recently sent
a medal of appreciation to AFA, its supporters and to AFA Journal
staff writer Pat Centner, who handled the letters sent to soldiers
through Nowland.
"The Award for Professional Excellence,
from the 544th Maintenance Battalion in Fort Hood, Texas, is not
only an appreciation of AFA, but also of the thousands of supporters
who took time to write to our soldiers out on the battlefield,"
AFA President Tim Wildmon said. "It’s an honor to be recognized
for our efforts, but the real honor comes in knowing we brought
some comfort and happiness to our men and women in uniform."
The Dear American Soldier campaign was launched
by AFA in October 2001, but was soon suspended due to the anthrax
scare that hit America not long after the September 11 terrorist
attacks. The campaign resumed in April 2002, then ended in July,
2003.
Justice Department
issues obscenity indictments
After 10 years of virtually no action, the federal government
appears poised to pursue legal action on obscenity. The move comes
as a host of leading decency advocates are urging President Bush
to issue a proclamation announcing his "support for vigorous
enforcement of federal obscenity laws."
Federal prosecutors in August issued a 10-count
indictment against Extreme Associates, Inc., a Los Angeles-based
pornography firm. The indictment originated in Pennsylvania and
names the company and husband and wife co-owners Robert Zickari
and Janet Romano. The case is based in Pennsylvania because that
is the location of an address to which Extreme Associates mailed
three of its videos.
The firm came under scrutiny after an episode
of PBS’ Frontline focused on the filming of one of Extreme
Associates’ films, Forced Entry. According to Romano,
the story of the film is about the degradation of a girl who is
kidnapped, raped, butchered and spat upon. Forced Entry is
one of the films named in the indictment.
U.S. Attorney Beth Buchanan, who is prosecuting
the case, described the videos as containing "extremely violent
and degrading sexual acts involving women," noting the videos
did not just portray normal sexual acts.
The first prosecutions in a decade begin as
leaders of a host of pro-family and Christian organizations around
the country have sent President Bush a letter and sample proclamation
urging him to lend full support to the fight against obscenity.
The group of leaders, including AFA Chairman Don Wildmon, called
for President Bush to issue the proclamation as part of the recognition
of Pornography Awareness Week, slated for October 26 through November
2.
Americans are urged to call or write President
Bush and voice their support, not only for the proclamation, but
also for the fight against obscenity. They are also urged to call
or write the Justice Department and thank Attorney General John
Ashcroft for the action against obscenity, and lend support for
more such action in the future.
To contact the White House and President Bush,
call 202-456-1111; fax 202-456-2461; or E-mail president@whitehouse.gov.
To contact the Justice Department and Attorney
General Ashcroft, call the Office of the Attorney General at 202-353-1555;
or E-mail AskDOJ@usdoj.gov.
Source: CNSNews.com, 8/11/03
BOYCOTT UPDATE
More
depravity at Disney ‘Gay Days’
The Christian Action Network (CAN)
has once again provided the world with proof of the shocking behavior
that families visiting Walt Disney World can encounter during "Gay
Days."
For the 13th straight year, Disney has hosted
Gay Days, the annual week-long event during which thousands of homosexuals
descend on the Magic Kingdom to flaunt their lifestyle to the city
of Orlando and the rest of the nation. The festivities center around
the first Saturday in June each year.
This past June, CAN president Martin Mawyer
attended Gay Days with his video camera in order to document what
goes on at the Disney event. Mawyer’s videotape shows homosexual
men engaged in public kissing, fondling and even simulated sex acts.
According to CNSNews, the filmed incidents occurred in public, on
Disney property, and while the park remained open to the general
public — including children.
"The video footage we captured on film
is the most brazen and shameless display of public homosexuality
I’ve ever seen," Mawyer said. "And to think it occurred
at Disney World is simply stunning and beyond belief."
Four years ago, CAN, a 250,000-member conservative
Christian group, released video footage of Disney dancers simulating
homosexual sex acts in graphic fashion during a performance at Disney’s
Mannequins Dance Palace.
This year Mawyer said he was threatened with
arrest by Disney officials because he again showed up with his camera.
A more explicit explanation of what went on
at Gay Days, as well as video footage captured by Mawyer, is available
at CAN’s Internet site, www.christianaction.org.
Source: Christian Action Network, 8/5/03; CNSNews.com,
8/7/03
CULTURE
Teen prostitution
a growing problem
A feature story in Newsweek
magazine should serve as an ominous warning to our culture, as law
enforcement officials around the nation say teenage prostitution
is a problem that cannot be ignored.
The FBI has identified 13 major U.S. cities
that have a teen prostitution problem, said Newsweek. According
to the article, the average age of sex-for-hire newcomers has dropped
to 13. Many of these new youthful prostitutes do not come from what
has been the traditional source: troubled and poorer backgrounds.
Frank Barnaba, who works with the Paul &
Lisa Program, which helps federal law enforcement officials locate
exploited children, told Newsweek, "Compared to three
years ago, we’ve seen a 70% increase in kids from middle- to
upper-middle-class backgrounds, many of whom have not suffered mental,
sexual or physical abuse."
Shockingly, the article said some teens are
willingly engaging in sex for money in order to purchase clothes,
jewelry or luxury items. One girl interviewed for the article said,
"Potentially good sex is a small price to pay for the freedom
to spend money on what I want."
"Child advocates are just as worried about,
and puzzled by, girls … who aren’t forced into prostitution,
but instead appear to sell themselves for thrills, or money, or
both," the article said.
Other youth are initially enticed with promises
of such luxuries, but are then trapped into prostitution by the
threat of violence. The local mall, law enforcement officials said,
is a favorite place for would-be pimps to find unsuspecting teens.
Source: Newsweek, 8/18/03
Deadly STD finds women
unaware
Women who contract the sexually transmitted disease, human papillomavirus
(HPV), may be in danger of developing cervical cancer — but
most women are unaware of the threat.
According to Reuters, a recent survey found
that less than a third of female respondents had ever even heard
of HPV. That ignorance can be deadly: 95% of women with cervical
cancer have HPV.
HPV is not only incurable, but women cannot
protect themselves from the disease by insisting that their sex
partners use a condom. The virus is often found on areas of the
skin not covered by a prophylactic.
That may explain why HPV is among the most common
sexually transmitted diseases in the nation, according to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There are some
20 million Americans infected with it, and 5.5 million new cases
are reported in the U.S. each year.
Source: Reuters, 8/5/03
Study finds teen sex
and suicide are linked
A study released by The Heritage Foundation is sure once again
to ignite the sexual revolution wars, after finding that teenage
girls who are sexually active face an increased risk for depression
and suicide.
Researchers examined government data obtained
in surveys of 6,500 youth ages 14 to 17, and found that more than
25% of sexually active girls said they were depressed "a lot
of the time" or "most or all of the time." In comparison,
7.7% of girls who were not sexually active expressed similar sentiments.
The difference among boys was also present,
although not quite as pronounced: 8.3% of sexually active boys showed
a greater tendency toward depression, while only 3.4% of non-active
boys said so.
The study found that "[g]irls who were
sexually active were three times more likely to say they had attempted
suicide than those who weren’t. Sexually active boys were nearly
nine times more likely to have attempted suicide."
Some might argue that the causality runs in
the other direction — depressed kids are more likely to engage
in sex and other risky behavior. However, Heritage Foundation Vice
President Rebecca Hagelin said the data showed that was a less likely
explanation.
"[A]s the Heritage analysis points out,
the differences in happiness between sexually active and non-sexually
active kids are too large and too widespread for the depression
to have caused the sex in most cases," she said. "They
could’ve lashed out in any number of ways.
"Also, a majority of teens who had become
sexually active admitted they’d started too soon and expressed
regret."
Hagelin said the results demonstrated that,
contrary to the reasoning behind the safe-sex philosophy, "there
is no condom for the brain or heart."
Source: www.heritage.org, 6/3/03
Internet gambling
claiming victims
While the exact amount is still hard to predict, experts estimate
that Internet gambling will siphon more than $3 billion in losses
from the bank accounts of Americans this year.
Arnie Wexler, who uses his national hotline
to help those with a gambling problem, said, "Internet gambling
is probably the most dangerous thing we’ve got going at this
time. It’s available 24 hours a day. You can do it in your
pajamas or your birthday suit."
According to a front page article in USA Today,
everything about Internet gambling is growing. Between 2000 and
2006, the number of people who gamble online is expected to increase
from 4 million to 6.2 million. Those risk-takers have more places
to visit, too. From a paltry 25 gambling sites in 1997, the number
of such Internet Web sites has grown to roughly 1,800 today.
The revenue generated is also skyrocketing:
between 2000 and 2003, the amount of money produced by online gambling
nearly tripled from an estimated $2.2 billion to $6.1 billion. Revenues
are expected to more than double over the next three years as well,
to $12.6 billion.
Perhaps most sadly of all, the number of problem
gamblers is also going up. One treatment facility based in Florida
said it had seen a 25% increase in those addicted to Internet gambling
in just two years.
Young people are particularly at risk, according
to USA Today, as a survey of 100 gambling sites found that underage
gamblers could access the Web sites fairly easily.
Source: USA Today, 8/22/03
FAMILY
‘Marriage
Savers’ saving unions in Kansas
Some churches in Kansas are committing
themselves to building strong marriages and families, and it appears
to be having an effect, as the divorce rate continues to drop dramatically.
Pastors of numerous churches are adopting the
strategy developed by Mike and Harriet McManus, founders of Marriage
Savers. Begun in 1996, Marriage Savers is a ministry that equips
local communities, principally through local congregations, to help
men and women prepare for lifelong marriage, strengthen existing
marriages, and restore troubled marriages.
The key to making this happen is equipping and
training married couples to become mentors, Mike McManus said. Every
church has members who have gone through adultery, abuse and other
problems and come out with their marriages intact.
"Our goal at Marriage Savers is for couples
who have been blessed with good marriages to be trained and motivated
to help others prepare for marriage or save existing marriages,"
he said.
McManus said Christian marriages have, for the
most part, been a disaster in terms of being a good example for
unbelievers. "The divorce rate among atheists and agnostics
in the United States is below that of almost every Protestant church,"
he said.
However, churches involved in Marriage Savers
have been part of a remarkable success story in Kansas, as divorce
rates have dropped by 53% in Wyandotte County and 63% in Johnson
County, McManus said.
Contact:
Marriage Savers, Inc.
9311 Harrington Drive
Potomac, MD 20854
301-469-5873
www.marriagesavers.org
Michaeljmcmanus@cs.com
Harriet.mcmanus@verizon.net
PORNOGRAPHY
Marriott
ignores parents whose children are exposed to porn
Anne Marie Miele and her husband thought
they had found a suitable pay-per-view movie for their children
one night while staying at a Marriott hotel. Instead, about an hour
into the film, they got a shocking switch from a family movie into
a hardcore porn film.
The Mieles also got something else: the cold
shoulder from Marriott officials not concerned enough even to talk
to the family. In a letter to AFA, Miele expressed her dismay with
Marriott officials and their lack of interest about the situation.
However, while Marriott might have ignored Miele,
they quickly acknowledged the thousands of e-mail complaints with
which they were deluged by OneMillionMoms.com (OMM) and OneMillionDads.com
(OMD) members. Company spokesman Tom Cooper demanded OMD stop delivering
e-mails to Marriott corporate executives or face legal action.
"My response to his threat was simple,"
said AFA Chairman Don Wildmon. "Until Marriott gets out of
the porn business, OMD will continue its campaign of educating and
warning families. If Marriott chooses to take legal action, we are
ready and willing to make it something that the national media will
take notice of. This way, the whole nation will learn that Marriott
makes millions from pornography."
The Mieles were staying at the Marriott Fallsview
in Niagara Falls, Canada, after attending a Christian music festival
outside Buffalo, New York. Anne Marie told AFA she and her husband
searched the channels to find something suitable for their children
to watch, finally finding a pay-per-view children’s movie.
"We were all enjoying the film when about
an hour into it, the screen instantly changed to hardcore pornography,"
Miele said. "I was shocked and immediately jumped up and covered
the screen while my husband frantically fumbled for the remote."
The Mieles were initially told the problem was
not the hotel’s, but that of the outside company from which
the hotel receives its pay-per-view feed. Multiple requests to speak
to hotel management were denied as the hotel management refused
to speak with the Mieles.
Contact
Marriott International, Inc.
Chairman J. W. (Bill) Marriott Jr.
One Marriott Drive
Washington, D.C. 20058
Phone: 301-380-3000
TOLL-FREE: 1-800-535-4028
E-mail: GuestRelations@marriott.com
Librarians awarded
settlement in Internet porn complaints
Minneapolis officials have agreed to pay $435,000 to a dozen
librarians, and to consider measures to restrict the viewing of
pornography on public library computers. The settlement stems from
librarians’ complaints that they were being put in the position
of having to see so much porn on computers after patrons left that
it constituted a hostile work environment.
Library officials will consider installing Internet
filters on the public computers to restrict the viewing of Internet
pornography, and also will explore ways to restrict the printing
of such explicit materials.
Lawyer Bob Halagan, representing the librarians,
said the lawsuit was not about the money, but about making it clear
to library officials everywhere that the prevalence of Internet
porn on library computers is a serious matter.
AFA President Tim Wildmon said more librarians
should challenge the "anything goes" attitude of their
libraries. "Someone who works in a library does not have to
subject herself to pornography on computers," he said. "These
determined ladies showed that their feelings on this matter count,
too."
Source: WCCO-TV (Minneapolis, MN), 8/15/03
Technology aids
library compliance with CIPA
Current technology has the capacity to help schools and libraries
meet most, if not all, of the requirements of the Children’s
Internet Protection Act (CIPA), a new study shows.
In issuing its report to Congress, the Department
of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) made two recommendations on how to foster the use of technology
protection measures to better meet the needs of educational institutions.
NTIA recommended, "Technology vendors should offer training
services to educational institutions on the specific features of
their products." Also, it stated that "CIPA’s definition
of ‘technology protection measure’ should be expanded
to include more than just blocking and filtering technology in order
to encompass a vast array of current technological measures that
protect children from inappropriate content."
CIPA, passed by Congress in 2000, requires schools
and libraries that receive federal funds for discounted telecommunications
and Internet access to adopt an Internet safety policy and employ
technological protections to block or filter material deemed obscene,
pornographic or harmful to minors.
National Telecommunications & Information
Administration, 8/15/03
RELIGION
Federal Court
allows Decalogue to remain
A plaque bearing the Ten Commandments
as allowed to remain in its place on a suburban Pennsylvania courthouse,
after the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to review an
earlier decision.
In June, a three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit
appellate court ruled that the plaque was not unconstitutional,
since it did not establish a religion or result in a government
endorsement of religion. Since the display had been in existence
for more than 80 years, the court also ruled that the plaque had
a historical context.
The decision was in marked contrast to another
federal ruling concerning a Ten Commandments monument that was placed
in the Alabama State Judicial Building by Chief Justice Roy Moore.
That monument was ordered removed by federal district judge Myron
Thompson, a decree that was carried out in August. (See related
story on page 18.)
Christians trim
back on tithing
One of the most fundamental duties of Christian living —
tithing, or giving a tenth of one’s income to the church —
appears to be increasingly ignored in many churches.
The Barna Research Group, a polling firm that
focuses on trends within the Christian community in the U.S., recently
reported that tithing declined by about 62% last year.
Thom Rainer of the Billy Graham School of Missions,
Evangelism and Church Growth said he believed the drop in giving
indicates that churches are beginning to pay a price for catering
to a generation that focuses more on what a church can do for them
rather than what they can do for God through their church.
He told Baptist Press that over the last 30
years, many people have approached church with a consumer mentality
— in other words, a selfish outlook that asks what the church
can do for them. And he said as churches have focused on meeting
those demands without challenging people about their service for
God, tithing has dropped.
Rainer said leaders must understand "we
have dumbed down membership to where it means nothing." He
added, however, that this trend can be turned around by encouraging
young people to think more about the mission of a church and what
they can do to help accomplish that purpose.
CLARIFICATION
‘Gay’ clergy in the Catholic
Church?
On page 15 of the September issue
of AFA Journa, the Catholic Church was listed among those
denominations that allow openly gay clergy, although a footnote
made clear that such clergy must remain celibate.
The article focused on the controversy within
some Christian denominations — but especially the Episcopal
Church — regarding the subject of homosexuality. The two areas
of most vigorous dissension in these churches are the ordination
of homosexuals into the ministry and whether or not clergy should
"bless" same-sex unions.
Some Journal readers took issue with
the placement of the Catholic Church in this category. Although
the original statement concerning the Church came from a report
issued by the Boston Globe, the Journal also consulted other
sources.
As a follow-up, the Journal contacted
Bill Ryan, a spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
He said that the issue of "openly gay clergy" serving
as priests is not a simple one. As for a priest who openly "proclaims
they live the gay lifestyle," Ryan said, "that would not
be the case in the Catholic Church."
However, Ryan said that there is no official
policy of the Catholic Church that would preclude a man from serving
in the priesthood, even if he admitted to having same-sex attractions,
as long as he remained celibate. He added that "there are some
dioceses where they might feel that such a candidate [for the priesthood]
was unacceptable."
Nevertheless, the Journal article may
have left the impression that the Catholic Church openly promotes
gay clergy in the same way as the Episcopal Church. That is not
the case. In fact, the Catholic Church has always taken a very strong
stance against the homosexual movement, especially with regard to
same-sex marriage and other issues related to the "gay"
agenda.
Source: AgapePress, 7/22/03
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