"My only enemy is right-wing religious fundamentalism." – Clinton per Marquez (Jerusalem Post 3/28/99)

Washington Post 7/95 Stephen Higgins (Director BATF – WACO) "…The day has long passed when we can afford to ignore the threat that is posed by individuals who believe they are subject only to the laws of their god and not those of our government…. …."

6/29/98 The Reagan Information Interchange, Mary Mostert. An anonymous informant employee of Forest Service employee provided a copy of a letter from Clinton which said among other things "THE WHITE HOUSE Washington GAY AND LESBIAN PRIDE CELEBRATION, 1998 Warm greetings to everyone taking part in the 1998 Gay and Lesbian Pride Celebration .Best wishes for a wonderful celebration.. Bill Clinton" with a note from Rob Sadler adding the following "As a Federal employee, it is important to add your name to the growing ranks of employees who are willing to openly identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons in the workplace. This act of personal bravery and conviction does more to alter the workplace environment and change perceptions than any other single action. We hope you will consider adding your name to this Register before National Coming Out Day on October 11, 1998." TV coverage of the 29th Gay Pride parade blocked out dirty placards, insulting banners, anti- religious themes, a half dozen men stark naked except for green condoms, bare-breasted women, and the passing of the parade in front of the St. Patrick's Cathedral - instead - as an example WNBC said "They're celebrating with pride and parades, a rainbow of flags, floats and festivities ... They kicked off in high style ... and remained spectacular to its end."

7/9/98 AP A crackdown on sex in public restrooms at a commuter bus terminal has netted dozens of offenders -- and raised the concern of advocates who fear that the campaign targets gay men.Authorities say that they are not singling out gay men. Officers also patrol the women's bathrooms, though they have not witnessed any sex there..

AP 10/14/98 ". The church - not gays and lesbians - has sinned by promoting unhealthy attitudes about sex, a United Methodist reverend who performed a union ceremony for two women in September 1997 said Wednesday. The Rev. Jimmy Creech, a former Omaha pastor, set off a national controversy last year when he performed the ceremony at First United Methodist Church..While critics have condemned him for disobeying Christian teachings, Creech said the church has fostered an unhealthy discussion of sex by teaching that it is not something to be talked about in public."

Freeper report 10/16/98 "I received this email today from someone who believes either that Christians are not being persecuted, or that they are and that they deserve it. The email originated from the .gov domain. Date: Friday, October 16, 1998 7:05:25 AM Subj: Christians persecuted? To: lazfilm@aol.com I read your article with interest Why are you Christians (I don't think you're REAL Christians) surprised and insulted when people defend themselves against something YOU started? YOU'RE the ones who have branded gays as sinners--YOU'RE the ones that don't understand the biology of sexual orientation (or evolution!). YOU'RE the people who started this--and to wonder why you're being attacked is ludicrous. What would Jesus do? Jesus probably WAS a homosexual-he certainly deviated from marriage and family and all your so-called traditional values--what would you label him? He hung around with a bunch of guys and had prostitutes for friends--he had no job, and he loitered around temples and banks. There is not ONE of you that would find this acceptable behavior today---You know in your hearts that Jesus would accept people's gayness--that's the kind of person he was--to think otherwise, is to deny your religion. Lynn

Washington Times 10/16/98 Julia Duin ".Family groups say they are furious at being linked with the murder of Matthew Shepard by TV commentators, newspaper columnists and homosexual activists. NBC, the network that airs the "Today" show, got so many complaints about comments by anchor Katie Couric that it told Focus on the Family Thursday to desist. "NBC was getting flooded with calls, so much they've called us today, asking the calls to stop," said Focus spokeswoman Amy Tracy. "When Katie made that comment on TV, our constituents started calling here. People are outraged.".On Monday's broadcast, Miss Couric and NBC reporter Geoffrey Dickens linked several Christian groups with the type of intolerance that reportedly led to the murder of Mr. Shepard, the 21-year-old University of Wyoming homosexual student who was viciously beaten last week and died Monday While ending an interview on Monday with Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer, Miss Couric asked: "Some gay-rights activists have said that some conservative Christian political organizations, like the Christian Coalition, the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family are contributing to this anti-homosexual atmosphere by having an ad campaign saying, 'If you're a homosexual, you can change your orientation.' That prompts people to say, 'If I meet someone who's homosexual, I'm going to take action and try to convince them or try to harm them.' Do you believe that such groups are contributing to this climate?" ."

San Jose Mercury 10/17/98 Richard Cohen ".IT IS expected of me, I know, that I would use the murder of Matthew Shepard, the 21-year-old University of Wyoming student, to lambaste political and religious conservatives for their homophobia. I will not disappoint. In fact, I will figuratively place the young man's body at the doorstep of Trent Lott, Richard Armey and countless other conservatives who maintain, somehow, that what President Clinton does in the privacy of the Oval Office has a baleful effect on national morals but their own public statements about homosexuality evanesce into the Washington night leaving, aside from a stink, no effect at all. They are wrong.."

San Francisco Gate 10/17/98 Debra J. Saunders "``WHAT MURDER isn't a hate crime?'' Jane Armstrong of Santa Cruz, asked yesterday. In 1986, Armstrong's 17-year-old brother Tod was shot four times in the course of a robbery, then left to die. Armstrong doesn't understand why Tod's robbery/murder isn't considered a hate crime, while the robbery/murder of Matthew Shepard, a homosexual college student living in Wyoming, is.."

Washington Weekly 10/19/98 J. Peter Mulhern (Peter the Lawyer) ".The anencephalic left pounced on Matthew Shepard's bloody shirt and promptly began waving it around. According to Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen, Wyoming police have arrested the wrong suspects in the Shepard case. The real culprit, he tells us, is Trent Lott. Senator Lott has an alibi, but this detail deters Richard Cohen hardly at all. Senator Lott and other Republican leaders are guilty of Matthew Shepard's murder because their rhetoric "robbed homosexuals of . . . humanity," thus "legitimizing hate," and promoting violence. The smoking gun proving Senator Lott's guilt is his own statement that homosexual acts are sinful. For thousands of years this moral insight has been conventional wisdom. Now, according to Richard Cohen, stating that insight is bigotry and incitement to violence. Nobody tries to explain or justify this about-face. Our moral opinions are supposed to change in the same mindless way that we exchange wide ties for narrow ones and vice versa. We don't need reasons; fashion reigns. Senator Lott's view of homosexuality grows out of the integrated moral philosophy that is woven into American society. The liberal view rests on the moral philosophy of the 1960's -- "if it feels good do it." But people like Richard Cohen have no respect for depth and no aversion to shallowness. The sillier a liberal idea gets, the more viciously liberals attack those who reject it.The only intelligible message one can derive from Richard Cohen's shameful attack on Trent Lott is that people who reject current liberal orthodoxy are bad. Disagreement is tantamount to murder; conformity is the duty of every decent person. iberals demand deference for their beliefs, but they proudly display contempt for the beliefs of others. When outraged Christians succeeded in raising some doubt about whether Corpus Christi would be produced, liberals cried foul, citing the First Amendment. Freedom of speech, they argued, demands that there be no social restraints on the presentation of controversial views. his is a truly radical suggestion. The Bill of Rights has traditionally dealt only with the limits of government action. The Christian protest of Corpus Christi never sought to have the government ban the offensive production. The protesters are asking that those responsible for the play cancel it voluntarily because it falls outside the bounds of good taste.."

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 10/19/98 Editorial ". Christians are responsible for the death of Matthew Shepard, the 21-year-old gay college student who was kidnapped, robbed and pistol-whipped, then left tied to a fence on a Wyoming ranch on Oct. 7. At least that's the slant NBC News felt compelled to include in a story it aired last Tuesday, the morning after Mr. Shepard died...From Mr. Gregory's Oct. 13 report on the ``Today'' show: ``Even as friends of Matthew Shepard held a candlelight vigil in his honor, gay civil rights groups rushed to condemn the killing, portraying Shepard as a casualty of a new cultural war against gays and lesbians, a war declared this summer by a coalition of religious right groups including the Christian Coalition, which funded advertisements in major newspapers and commercials on TV promoting a campaign to convert homosexuals to heterosexuality.'' .By the way, after leaving Shepard for dead, police say Henderson and McKinney returned to Laramie, picking a street fight with two Hispanics. In this current climate of political correctness, can there be any doubt that the chihuahua of Taco Bell commercial fame somehow won't be blamed?.."

WorldNetDaily 10/20/98 Jane Chastain "There is no scientific proof that one is born homosexual. It is a movement grounded in politics not science. In 1973, homosexuality was removed from the American Psychiatric Association's official list of disorders, not as a result of any scientific breakthrough, but by a campaign of intimidation and harassment. An independent poll of APA members conducted at the time showed that an overwhelming majority considered it to be a treatable disorder. Under continued pressure from homosexual activists, the APA subsequently voted to "normalize" sadomasochism and pedophilia.."

Jewish World Review 10/20/98 Thomas Sowell ".People who glibly talk about "hate crimes" ignore both the past and the implications for the future in what they are advocating. It took centuries of struggle and people putting their lives on the line to get rid of the idea that a crime against "A" should be treated differently than the same crime committed against "B." After much sacrifice and bloodshed, the principle finally prevailed that killing a peasant deserved the same punishment as killing a baron. Now the "hate crime" advocates want to undo all that and take us back to the days when punishment did not fit the crime, but varied with who the crime was committed against.."

The Nation 11/11/98 Tony Kushner ". Trent Lott endorses murder, of course; his party endorses murder, his party endorses discrimination against homosexuals and in doing so it endorses the ritual slaughter of homosexuals. Trent Lott endorses murder. He knows that discrimination kills. Pope John Paul II endorses murder.None of these kids will ever be allowed to marry the person she or he loves, not while the Pope and his church can prevent it; all of these kids are told, by the Holy Catholic Church, and by the Episcopalians and Lutherans and Baptists and Orthodox Jews: Your love is cursed by God. To speak out against murdering those who are discriminated against is to speak out against discrimination. To remain silent is to endorse murder.. If you are lesbian, gay, transgendered, bi, reading this, here's one good place to assign blame: The Human Rights Campaign's appalling, post-Shepard endorsement of Al D'Amato dedicates our resources to the perpetuation of a Republican majority in Congress. The HRC, ostensibly our voice in Washington, is in cahoots with fag-bashers and worse. If you are a heterosexual person, and you are reading this: Yeah yeah yeah, you've heard it all before, but if you have not called your Congressperson to demand passage of a hate crimes bill that includes sexual orientation, and e-mailed every Congressperson, if you have not gotten up out of your comfortable chair to campaign for homosexual and all civil rights--campaign, not just passively support--may you think about this crucified man, and may you mourn, and may you burn with a moral citizen's shame."

The Washington Times (Weekly) 10/19-25/98 Editorial ". On October 7 in Laramie, Wyoming police say , two men lured a college student our of a local bar to their truck, beat him, tiedhim to a fence post, pistol-whipped him with a .357 magnum, robbed him and left him for dead in near- freezing temperatures. Then they did something really, really heinous. They reportedly derided the victim for his homosexuality. ..But it wsn't swift and sure justice for the suspects that the critics were demanding. It was public consciiousness-raisingand attitude adjustment. "I was deeply grieved by the act of violence perpetrated against Matthew Shepard," said President Clinton. "There is nothing more important to the future of this country than our standing together against intolerance, prejudice and violent bigotry." How about standing together against violent crime? In a letter to the Laramie Daily Boomerang, two Unitarian Church ministers complained that the incident was atypical in its brutality but not in its "underlying motive" --And they weren't talking about robbery. Gays in Laramioe they said, "are frequently assaulted with derision, intolerance, insult and hostility--if not guns and ropes." The two apparently make no distinction between derision and hangings or shootings, but derision didn't kill Matthew Shepard. The deliberate blurring of thought, word and deed in this case is regrettable for a couple of reasons. Rather than turn hate into some kind of thought crime, it actually diminishes the horror of the murder itself. There is no such thing as a good motive for murder.."

LifeSite Daily News 10/29/98 ".John Holmes of the Association of Christian Schools International revealed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is requiring all participants in federal school nutrition programs and other USDA programs -- including religious schools and other religious institutions -- to display a poster saying that discrimination is prohibited on the basis of "race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status." Holmes noted that US law does not establish "sexual orientation" or "political beliefs" as a protected class. In a release by the National Center for Public Policy Research Holmes said that Congress should be informed that the USDA is forcing compliance with a statute the Congress has not approved.."

AFA.net 2/6/99 Gene Edward Veith (World Magazine) ".The way to keep the Internet safe for children, according to many Christians and cyber libertarians leery of government censorship, is for parents to employ filtering software, which promises to prevent children from signing on to sexually explicit or other harmful sites. The most commercially successful filtering software-outselling its competitors by as much as 10 to one and rated best of them all by a number of computer magazines-is CyberPatrol. Published by The Learning Company and automatically updated on-line, CyberPatrol blocks out sites that fall into 12 categories: Violence/Profanity, Partial Nudity, Full Nudity, Sexual Acts, Gross Depictions, Intolerance, Satanic/Cult, Drugs/Drug Culture, Militant/Extremist, Sex Education, Questionable/Illegal and Gambling, and Alcohol and Tobacco. Christians might be surprised to find themselves included in such company. The American Family Association, Donald Wildmon's media watchdog organization and a longtime advocate of filtering the Internet, is now being filtered by CyberPatrol. The AFA's Web site, itself devoted to fighting the media's "Gross Depictions," has been judged blockable on the grounds of "intolerance," a category previously reserved for Nazis and Klansmen. The AFA, like other Christian activist organizations, questions the gay-rights movement and teaches that homosexual acts are immoral. This is considered an example of discrimination based on sexual orientation, which is a clear violation of the criteria published in the CyberPatrol manual. Impressionable young minds thus need to be protected from the heinous, shocking ideas of moral conservatives. .."

The Wanderer 11/5/98 Paul Likoudis Freeper marshmallow ".How easy is it for a homosexual activist with 20 years of experience in "gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered ministry" to use a Catholic archbishop, "contaminate" Catholic schools, and frustrate the parents of Catholic school students? It's very easy, according to homosexual activist Bill Kummer, who publicly disclosed his step-by-step plan that transformed nine of the eleven Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis into "gay- friendly" schools. He has been so successful, as a matter of fact, that he can proudly boast that some Catholic high schools in his archdiocese have gay student clubs, survey students on their "homophobia," publish gay newspapers, have queer literature in their libraries, and even permit same-sex couples to dance at their high school proms. In just three years, Kummer claimed, under his direction, Catholic high schools have adjusted their curricula to include gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered ideology in most classes, including history, literature, science, religion, and even math.."

American Center for Law and Justice Fall 1998 "...Thanks to your support, the ACLJ has stopped an appalling attempt to make homosexuality part of a Connecticut high school's program for "minority students." Vince McCarthy, our ACLJ Northeastern regional counsel, appeared before the Brookfield High School board to denounce the Pink Triangle program, which encouraged "sexually confused" teens to discuss their feelings with designated faculty members. Following his presentation, the school board voted to ban the program. Pink triangle decals, posted on several classroom doors, would have designated "safe zones" for students who are homosexual, bisexual, or confused about their sexuality. That was the shocking message that a public schoolteacher delivered to her class of teenagers in announcing the program. The Connecticut school was literally going to provide sexually troubled kids with adult counseling that condoned and encouraged the homosexual lifestyle...."

American Family Association (AFA.net) 3/2/99 "…The battle in this country between those holding to traditional morality and those espousing hedonism has reached a fever pitch, manifested in no clearer terms that the ideological conflict over homosexuality…. There may be no area of debate that causes blood pressures to escalate more rapidly than the question of whether public schools should teach children about homosexuality. Now the homosexual community has thrown down the gauntlet by unveiling a video entitled It’s Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues In School, and as its title implies, the video is aimed at the educational establishment. The video is produced by Helen Cohen and Debra Chasnoff, the latter an Academy Award-winning documentary producer. In 1992 Chasnoff became the first woman to openly declare her lesbianism at the Oscars. The producers went into six elementary and middle schools where teachers and principals are already force-feeding children with pro-gay grist. The narrator says the educators allowed the filming "in the hope of inspiring other educators and parents to take the next step in their own school communities to teach children respect for all." …When It’s Elementary is not pointing the finger at bigoted parents in general, it zeroes in on Christians in particular: the Christian view of homosexuality is highlighted as an example of outrageous bigotry. In one sequence of clips from TV talks shows, two apparent Christians present the view of their faith. One says, "God hates fags." The other: "The Bible that I read says homosexuals should be put to death." …"

Clinton spokesman Mike McMurry said that Senator Lott and those who agreed with him that homosexual conduct is a sin are "backward in their thinking" and "incorrect."

Washington Times 3/23/99 Julia Duin "…A study on pedophilia that claims child sexual abuse does not cause lasting psychological harm to its victims has set off a furor on the Internet and talk radio. The angry public reaction, fueled by Internet reports and conservative activists, comes nine months after the study was first released by the influential American Psychological Association. Sex between adults and willing minors should be described in more positive terms, the study suggests. "A willing encounter ... would be labeled simply 'adult-child sex,' a value-neutral term," the authors advised. "A willing encounter between an adolescent and an adult with positive reactions ... would be labeled scientifically as 'adult-adolescent sex.'" The report, titled "A Meta-Analytic Examination of Assumed Properties of Child Sexual Abuse Using College Samples," is a compilation of 59 studies on how college students cope with child sexual abuse. The article was written by Bruce Rind, a psychology professor at Temple University in Pennsylvania, Philip Tromovitch of the University of Pennsylvania graduate school of education and Robert Bauserman, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan. Mr. Bauserman was also a contributor to a special issue on sex between men and boys published in 1990 by the Journal of Homosexuality, a scholarly journal. His article on "Male Intergenerational Intimacy" in that journal questioned the "taboo" against "man-boy sexual relationships." Mr. Bauserman dismissed criticism of these relationships as "irrelevant or else biased."…"

St. Louis Post-Dispatch 4/7/99 Helen Louise Herndon "…To think that San Francisco is named for a Catholic saint is ironic in today's climate. On Easter Sunday the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" partied and celebrated their 20th anniversary by ridiculing nuns. This is not only a mockery of the Roman Catholic Faith but a mockery of historical Christianity as well. Though I am not Roman Catholic and not a proponent of monastic life as exemplified by cloistered nuns, I recognize that such an attempted bashing of an institution held precious and sacred to another religious group is basically a slap in the face to all religions that hold dear their doctrines and practices. When the "Sisters" claim to be merely irreverent, they fail to recognize their act goes beyond irreverence. Their behavior and mockery of the religious is a manifestation of stark prejudice and bigotry against a particular group of people. The fact that they chose Easter, the holiest day on the Christian calendar, only bolsters its outrageous behavior as bigotry. Would the city officials of San Francisco permit a group such as the "Sisters" to dress up on the feast day of the Eid ul-Adha and make a mockery of the faith of Muslim pilgrims on their journey to Mecca? I hardly think so. In fact, they would run the risk of a violent retaliation because most Muslims hold sacred their doctrines and practices. ….Do gays really think Christianity alone prohibits homosexual acts? How would San Francisco's city officials react if a group planned to dress up as Orthodox rabbis or Orthodox Jewish men and women to make a mockery of the Orthodox Jewish faith on Yom Kippur or during Passover? There would be outrage across this nation that any group would show itself so bigoted. Most people, regardless of religious affiliation, would be offended that any group purported to make fun of this very religious group of people. The holy writings of Muslims and Orthodox Jews strongly condemn homosexuality. Yet these groups are spared the ridicule by gay activists that Christianity, and particularly the Roman Catholic faith, experiences…."

WorldNetDaily.com 4/9/99 Stephan Archer "...Assembly Bill 222, a piece of legislation calling for the addition of "sexual orientation" to the existing non-discrimination laws of the California Education Code, may soon be challenged in the courts if state lawmakers vote to pass the bill.... The California Education Code currently recognizes the right of every student to educational opportunity without regard to "race, creed, color, national origin, sex, or economic status." The legislation, Kuehl said, would simply add "sexual orientation" to those sections of the Education Code that now protect students from other forms of discrimination..... In one of the controversial portions of the bill, Kuehl said that private schools controlled by religious organizations, such as churches, will be exempted from adopting policies contrary to any religious beliefs they might hold. Although appearing to be private school-friendly on the surface, Dacus explained that many private and religious schools are not directly affiliated with churches and thus will have to comply with the proposed law in the bill or face consequences for non-compliance. Another controversial aspect of the bill deals with interscholastic athletic participation. According to Kuehl, private schools that are currently participating in interscholastic athletics with public schools wouldn't be adversely affected by the bill. However, Dacus believes that the bill would effectively ban private schools from participating in public school athletic leagues unless they adhere to the sexual orientation measure in the bill..... Another concern that Dacus has concerning the bill has to do with the fact that the bill would make it impossible for students who want to attend most religious colleges to receive Cal Grants because according to the bill, Cal Grant funds cannot go to universities that don't have sexual orientation policies allowing professing homosexuals to teach. Speaking of possible ramifications of the bill, Dacus said, "It basically opens the door for justification of homosexual acceptance -- not just tolerance -- of homosexual policies and programs throughout public schools because it specifically states that all curriculum cannot 'reflect adversely' upon homosexuality. This would inherently include class instruction dealing with homosexuality and its association with HIV and AIDS." ..."

ConservativeNews.org 5/12/99 Justin Torres "...As hate crime legislation winds its way through the Congress, conservative and family activists have begun to accuse those pushing the bills of having a non-traditional family, pro-homosexual agenda that they wish to ensconce in public schools-using public money to pay for the effort. To date, the effort has yielded public school curricula and programs that teach grade school students about homosexuality and encourage high school students to lobby lawmakers on a variety of homosexual issues. The selectivity of the material also neglects thousands of years of religious conviction by every major denomination on Earth-and overlooks the statistics on hate crime, which account for a minute percentage of total crime in America-describing homosexuality as "normal."..."

www.ConservativeNews.org 5/13/99 Justin Torres "....Hate crime legislation presently before the U.S. Congress sets up funding structures for "hate prevention" programs and youth advocacy groups in American schools. These programs are designed and required by federal mandate to "support" homosexual students rather than advocate the normalization of homosexuality. They are hoped to ease an assortment of mental and psychological difficulties claimed to be caused by alleged discrimination and homophobia in schools. But there is a thin line between "support" and "advocacy," and many private programs have surfaced around the nation, such as Gay/Straight Alliances (GSAs) and other such groups that are products of coordinated efforts between government policy makers, teachers, and homosexual advocacy groups, including the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination (GLAAD); Parents, Friends, and Families of Gays and Lesbians (PFLAG); the Lambda Legal Defense Education Fund (LLDEF); and the Gay/Lesbian/Straight Education Network (GLSEN). These groups have used GSAs and other student organizations for lobbying in favor of a variety of homosexual causes. They're also often used as conduits for federal and state tax money, and as springboards for lawsuits against school districts and administrators accused of insensitivity to homosexual concerns, raising questions about whether such activity is advocacy or support...."

Conservative News 5/12/99 Lawrence Morahan "...The publication in a prestigious psychological bulletin of a sex study that medical experts say is a trial balloon for the normalization of pedophilia has prompted a group of conservative lawmakers to call on President Clinton to condemn the suggestion that sex between adults and children is harmless. "I'm outraged," Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ), a leading advocate of stiffer sentences for sexual predators, told a coalition of leading conservative lawmakers, victims of pedophilia and family groups at a forum on sex abuse hosted by the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. Wednesday. Salmon was referring to an article that appeared in the July 1998 volume of the Psychological Bulletin, a bi-monthly publication of the American Psychological Association (APA), in which the authors say it's all right for an adult to sodomize a child so long as the child doesn't develop psychological problems because of it. The article, "A Meta-Analytic Examination of Assumed Properties of Child Sexual Abuse Using College Samples," by Bruce Rind, Philip Tromovitch and Robert Bauserman, unleashed a firestorm for asserting, among other things, that there is scant evidence that little boys suffer from having been sodomized by adult males......"I don't want to understand them. I want to put them in prison," Salmon said of pedophiles..."

AP 5/7/99 Freeper Buffalo Bob "...A beer advertisement in a free magazine for gays and lesbians that shows two men holding hands has drawn so much response that Anheuser-Busch Inc. set up special hot lines to handle calls...."

The Indian Express 5/8/99 Reuters Freeper Jai "...San Franciscans held a party Friday ``to de-stigmatize and celebrate the under-recognized activity of self-love.'' The occasion being marked at a local sex shop was ``National Masturbation Day,'' and the San Francisco sex campaigners who organized the erotic festival and ``Masturbate-a-thon'' said it was part of a drive to liberate people's sexuality, reports Reuters. . . . "

New York Post 5/15/99 Uncredited Editorial "...Wesleyan is offering a course in porn. The final exam is quite simple, explains Professor Hope Weissman: "Just create your own work of pornography." ....One took photos of herself and her boyfriend engaging in oral sex. Another made a video of a fellow student's eyes as he pleasured himself..... The course catalogue describes Weissman's seminar as a serious examination of the "implication of pornography in so-called [sic] perverse practices such as voyeurism, bestiality, sadism and masochism." (Thesyllabus includes Hustler magazine and the Marquis de Sade.) ..."

EWTN 5/18/99 "...Pro-family advocates and reformed ex-homosexuals called on the American Psychiatric Association on Monday to revisit its policy on whether homosexuals can change their orientation, as the group opened its annual convention. The groups called on the APA to change its policy on homosexuality within its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual to reflect the ability of homosexuals to change and to stop condemning therapists who treat them. "Instead of condemning and interfering with treatment that has proven to be successful in the lives of hundreds of men and women who have benefited by it, the APA should be supporting the work of NARTH (National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality) members and referring individuals seeking help to them," Jan LaRue of the Family Research Council said. APA has changed its policies in recent years, revoking the designation of homosexuality as a mental illness or disease. Moreover, therapists and psychiatrists who treat the orientation as disease are often ostracized or penalized by their colleagues, according to the advocates...."

Augusta Chronicle 6/6/99 Editorial "...Bill Clinton is the first president to go beyond tolerating homosexuality to promoting it as an acceptable alternative lifestyle. He has ignored the constitutional veto of the Senate by naming, during the congressional recess, homosexual activist James Hormel as ambassador to Luxembourg. (This country, 97 percent Roman Catholic, was insulted when his name was first announced -- and this was after the Democratic donor was to be ambassador to Fiji, but couldn't serve because homosexuality is a crime there.) Hormel was a ``commentator'' for San Francisco's ``Gay Pride Parade,'' which mocks Christianity -- and Catholicism in particular. He also funds a library collection in that city featuring perverted documents from the ``North American Man/Boy Love Association.'' How low can Clinton go? ..."

Kansas City Star 6/6/99 "....Saturday night's prom at midtown's Metropolitan Community Church was the first gay prom in the Kansas City area, organizers said...The event was organized by Passages, a social and support group for gays, lesbians and other youths between the ages of 14 and 21. "We wanted an event where the atmosphere is very affirming, not that thin gruel of tolerance," said Bruce Hall, a Passages board member...."

Associated Press 6/17/99 Julia Lieblich "...Homosexuality dominated the final day of the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting, as members criticized the appointment of the nation's first openly gay ambassador and cheered football great Reggie White for again condemning the gay lifestyle. ``God said it not -- Reggie White,'' the player-turned-preacher told the audience Wednesday. ``Leviticus 18.22 says, `Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman.''' The applause at the Georgia Dome was thunderous. Last year, White declared homosexuality a sin when he addressed the Wisconsin Legislature. Earlier Wednesday, members of the nation's largest Protestant denomination voted overwhelmingly to urge President Clinton to rescind James Hormel's appointment as ambassador to Luxembourg. ....The convention also rebuked Clinton -- who is a Southern Baptist -- for proclaiming June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month...."

www.conservativenews.org 6/8/99 Justin Torres Freeper buffalo bob "...Emily: "My mothers mean so, so, so, so, so much to me. I have two mothers. Two moms is pretty nice. Well, it's more than pretty nice, it's really nice. You can't imagine. Although having two mothers is a problem to others, I respect that that's the way they think, and I can't do anything about it. I still think that those people think stupidly. This once happened with a boy in my class who couldn't come to my house because my parents were lesbians. One night I called their house and their mother told me their version of the Bible. I stood up for my mothers and knew that many kids in my class were supporting me and calling me to see how I was. I am proud of my moms and enjoy marching in the gay pride march every single year with my moms." Teacher: "Wasn't that a nice essay? Shouldn't we give Emily a round of applause?" ...."

U.S. Newswire 6/11/99 Freeeper Brian Mosely "...Thirty years ago this month, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, a courageous group of citizens resisted harassment and mistreatment, setting in motion a chain of events that would become known as the Stonewall Uprising and the birth of the modern gay and lesbian civil rights movement. Gays and lesbians, their families and friends, celebrate the anniversary of Stonewall every June in America as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month; and, earlier this month, the National Park Service added the Stonewall Inn, as well as the nearby park and neighborhood streets surrounding it, to the National Register of Historic Places...."

CNSNews.com 8/24/99 Susan Jones "…The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLADD), following the lead of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, says 28 gay, bisexual or transgender characters on the networks' new fall TV shows is not enough. The group is disappointed that most of the characters are white males, who are gay in name only and have only minor, recurring roles - usually as the butt of jokes, or to provide comic relief. The only gay lead on prime-time television is the character Will Truman of NBC's "Will & Grace." GLADD's media director, Scott Seomin, tells the New York Daily News, "If Will Truman doesn't have a date on "Will & Grace" this season, then the network has failed to realistically deliver that sitcom's premise of the life of a gay man." …"

The Associated Press 6/25/99 Katie Fairbank "...Presbyterian leaders Friday rejected a measure that could have opened the door to the ordination of non-celibate gays and lesbians. At the annual meeting of the 2.6-million-member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), delegates decided 389 to 198 not to allow the church's regional governing bodies to vote on the issue. For now, the vote ends an attempt to strike the constitutional clause that requires clergy to maintain ``fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness.'' That prohibits single, non-celibate heterosexuals or homosexuals from being ministers...."

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 6/24/99 Julia duin "...The Clinton administration quietly awarded a homosexual bar with a coveted place on the National Register of Historic Places in an emotional ceremony this week at a party in New York. On Monday, the Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village bar that was ground zero in a series of riots in June 1969, was honored with a National Register plaque by John Berry, an assistant secretary for the Department of the Interior. In a speech, he likened the riots to the Boston Tea Party, the Declaration of Independence and the Battle of Gettysburg...."

Fox News 7/13/99 Reuters "…The Vatican Tuesday punished an American nun and priest, both long-time gay activists, for propagating "erroneous and dangerous'' views and refusing to toe the Roman Catholic Church's line on homosexuality. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which controls the orthodoxy of Catholic teaching, said in a statement it had banned Sister Jeannine Gramick and Father Robert Nugent permanently from pastoral work involving homosexuals…."

Worldnetdaily 7/26/99 J R Nyquist "...This letter is important because it contains an error which needs to be corrected. The error is to think that conservatives use dictatorial methods. But the reality is, the whole conservative movement is committed to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This is its point of departure. It is therefore the worst possible misunderstanding to imagine that conservatives are engaged in some kind of sinister or criminal plot. This accusation is unfair. All that conservatives have done is use the ballot box -- the democratic process. Conservatives are merely campaigning and voting for what they believe in. Perhaps the left doesn't pay attention to what conservatives say and do. Perhaps they would understand us better if they did. American conservatives want to uphold freedom and republican institutions. That is what they are struggling for. Perhaps there are those on the left who would point to the "Christian right," and say that this is the group that is threatening to send the sex police on a rampage. But if you listen closely to what the "Christian right" is saying, there is no plan to police people's bedrooms. The fact that Christians uphold moral values does not mean they intend to send the police to effect moral changes in our society. Cultural conservatives and Christians are sophisticated enough to know that sheer police power cannot bring positive moral change. The person who wants a national police force, on the other hand, is Bill Clinton. That is something he's been advocating since 1992. But none of the cultural conservatives or Christians I know are advocating the use of police agencies to punish fornication, homosexuality, or adultery. Certainly the conservatives are worried about the decline in moral standards. Certainly the conservatives want to elect leaders who exemplify these standards. But there has been no call for chastity belt legislation. In this matter, left wing paranoia has created, out of whole cloth, an imaginary right wing monster. It is a mad, delusional notion that should have no place in rational political discussion..... Today, if Christians act to preserve the basis of Western civilization by voting to support their values, then they are usurpers and dictators. How odd, indeed, that the moral basis of a civilization should suddenly become a threat to that civilization. The logic of the secular left is not logic at all. It is blindness and irrationality. Christ taught us to love other people and to love God. He taught mercy and forgiveness. For this teaching he was crucified. In this context, I cannot imagine what the left could possibly be thinking when it likens Christianity to Marxism or Nazism -- which are doctrines of hate...."

Claremont Institute 8/5/99 Larry Arnn "...First, New Jersey's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in favor of James Dale. Dale, you may recall, is the Boy Scout leader who was dismissed from that position nine years ago because of his homosexuality. He sued the Scouts, a private organization, to get his place back. This is one of several such suits that have been filed against the Boy Scouts of America and local scouting organizations. But it is the first to succeed in any state Supreme Court. Now it will go to the United States Supreme Court. We will both work and pray that the highest court of all, the one over which "the Supreme Judge of the World" presides, will remember their duty to uphold the "laws of nature and of nature's God."...."

Florida Times-Union 8/10/99 "...New Jersey's Supreme Court was on dubious legal ground when it declared the Boy Scout ''gay ban'' unlawful under a state statute. The Scout organization teaches traditional family values and requires its young members to take an oath to be ''morally straight.'' It therefore would be hypocritical, Scout officials maintain, to allow homosexual leaders or members. .... The Scouts replied that, as a private and voluntary group, they could tailor membership and leadership criteria to fit their values. The court disagreed, however, saying the Scouts were a public accommodation subject to that law. Legal precedent suggests something entirely different. The homosexual ban has been upheld by the supreme courts of four other states - California, Oregon, Kansas and Connecticut...."

The Washington Times 8/10/99 Wes Pruden "...If you don't subscribe to the notion that gay is as good as it gets, you're a bigot. The New Jersey Supreme Court says so. The judges of the court, finding the Boy Scouts of America guilty of "illegal discrimination" because the Scouts won't countenance assigning little boys to the care of homosexual Scoutmasters, say anyone who disagrees with them is a bigot. The logical implications of the ruling, which applies only to New Jersey and is likely to be overturned by higher courts, are breathtaking. Deborah T. Poritz, the chief justice who wrote the opinion in the name of a unanimous court, says the Scouts' dismissal of James Dale, the homosexual assistant Scoutmaster, was "based on little more than prejudice," and "the sad truth is that excluded groups and individuals have been prevented from full participation in the social, economic and political life of our country. The human price of this bigotry has been enormous.".... In a concurring opinion, Justice Alan B. Handler says: "One particular stereotype that we renounce today is that homosexuals are inherently immoral. That myth is repudiated by decades of social science data that convincingly establish that being homosexual does not, in itself, derogate from one's ability to participate in and contribute responsibly and positively to society. In short, a lesbian and gay person, merely because he or she is a homosexual, is no more or less likely to be moral than a person who is heterosexual." Maybe, maybe not. The Jersey judges carefully avoid saying whether the practice of the love rites of the nether region is immoral, only that mooning about it isn't. But the teaching that homosexuals individually are immoral "is a myth." This careful straddle is meant to give them a little wiggle room, but the judges can't resist showing their contempt for the religious teachings of every major religious denomination in America -- Protestant, Catholic, Jewish....."

CNSNews.com 8/12/99 Nicholas Sanchez "...As the American culture increasingly retreats from its Judeo-Christian heritage, I think it is important for traditionalists to reflect upon the past of the Christian Church... For the first three hundred years following the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the great Church of Christ was known as the "Church of the Catacombs." It was termed as such because the adherents of the orthodox Christian Faith were forced to congregate in the catacombs, atop the bodies of Christian martyrs. Christianity was a persecuted and outlawed religion. Then a cataclysmic event occurred in the early life of the Church: the Roman Emperor, Constantine, a nonbeliever at the time, issued his "Edict of Milan." This decree legalized the Christian Church. Overnight, the Church of the Catacombs became the Church of the Empire....We religious, especially we Christians, have been so beaten down by the government's assaults of recent decades that we are very much in danger of once again becoming the Church of the Catacombs. Don't laugh or accuse me of being too melodramatic. Consider these latest cases: Just recently, the Wiccan rites were approved to be served on U.S. Army bases. At this same time, a married Catholic serving in the Air Force, Lt. Ryan Berry, was severely reprimanded for refusing to share a confined quarter with a female officer to avoid the appearance of sin. Imagine, the U.S. military, one of the oldest and most venerable institutions in this relatively young country has decided to side with pagans over Christians. The next thing you know school children will be forbidden from praying in school, the Ten Commandments will be taken from our public buildings, homosexuals will be allowed adoption rights, and tax laws will be made to favor unmarried couples instead of married ones. Oh, wait, sorry - my mistake. I forgot that we had already begun to slip down that path..... What I do want is a peaceful co-existence between the government and those who are professed Christians. This country has decided to place a wall between such a relationship, but only in the case of Christianity - New Agers are in the midst of their halcyon days...."

Washington Post 8/15/99 George Will "...New Jersey's Supreme Court has unanimously issued a ruling that deserves to be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which four years ago issued a unanimous ruling that may be incompatible with the New Jersey ruling that the Boy Scouts cannot discriminate against homosexuals. The controversy, with wide ramifications for American freedom, is not about whether the Scouts' policy is right but whether the Scouts have a right to it. The Scouts will take to the U.S. Supreme Court the argument that their constitutional (First Amendment) right of "expressive association" trumps New Jersey's statute...."

Chuck Baldwin Live 8/18/99 "…Without question, we live in the most hypersensitive generation in history. In this atmosphere of politically correct sensitivity a man was fired job for using the word "niggardly." The word has nothing to do with insulting a particular minority race, of course, but simply means, "miserly, stingy, covetous." No matter. The man was fired posthaste. Just this week Sen. Robert Bennett from Utah was told to apologize for quipping that unless Gov. G.W. Bush did something stupid, like have an affair with a black woman, he was certain to win the Republican nomination for president. He did. Americans are told that they had better not offend black people, Jewish people, homosexuals, Asians, Muslims, Indians, handicap people, short people, fat people, near-sighted people, ugly people or any other people. Any other people except Christian people, that is. Christians are routinely impugned, denigrated and held up to scorn from practically every quarter of society. In movies they are pictured as maniacal murderers, serial rapists and the like. They are favored targets of every late night TV comedian. Christians are routinely told that if they are offended by the content of television programs to "turn the channel". Christian chaplains in our military services are categorically instructed to not mention the name of Jesus. The leaders of public education tell Christian valedictorians the same thing. Christian schoolteachers are told to check their faith at the entrance to the school. Christians must listen to profanity, look at co-worker’s girlie magazines but are threatened with their jobs if they bring a Bible or gospel tract to work….."

Augusta Chronicle 8/20/99 Editorial "…I would like to make some comments about the young man who appeared Aug. 4 on ``Good Morning America.'' I could not believe this show would reduce itself to air this! The young man stated that he was removed from the Boy Scouts of America due to the fact that he is a homosexual. That fact is true! BSA teaches duty to Self, Family, Country and God. Homosexuality is a sin! God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. The majority of sponsoring organizations for BSA are churches. This man also stated that homosexuals being barred from Scouting is not stated anywhere in BSA literature but in the beginning of the BSA handbook for Scouts stipulates ``traditional American family values.'' That means a father (male) and mother (female) and this is taught from the very beginning of any Scouting career. I have been in Scouting since 1971 as a youth and adult leader. If this change is forced upon us, it will kill Scouting…. It is hard now to keep track of 25 young men on a camping trip without having to worry about if a leader is missing. If the homosexual community wants Scouting, then start your own, do not force your way of life on us and devalue the Eagle Scout Award…."

AP 8/20/99 "…Several Republican presidential candidates have pledged to oppose allowing gay or lesbian couples to adopt and to promote the rights of organizations such as the Boy Scouts to exclude homosexuals, a gay rights group said Friday. Human Rights Campaign said former Vice President Dan Quayle, radio host Alan Keyes, publisher Steve Forbes, conservative activist Gary Bauer, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah and commentator Pat Buchanan signed the pledge before last week's Iowa straw poll…."

Joseph Sobran 8/20/99 "…The New Jersey court's opinions confirm that homosexual "rights" are injurious to our traditional rights. Orthodox Judaism and Christianity have always condemned homosexuality. But this ancient teaching, says the court, is nothing but "bigotry." Why? Because "social science data" have revealed that homosexuals may act "responsibly" and "positively." So religious and traditional teachings -- as well as the freedoms of religion, speech and association -- must be subordinated to "social science data." But no neutral social science presumes to pass judgment on moral and religious teachings. The whole method of social science is to suspend moral judgments in the study of phenomena. The court, however, has ruled that the Boy Scouts must subordinate their own moral judgments to the court's supposedly "scientific" finding that homosexuals are morally entitled to forced association with people who would freely choose to avoid their company…..Well, well. So that's "tolerance." Neither the New Jersey court nor the tolerant Times argues from the purely legal merits of the case. Both are on a moral mission to force the Boy Scouts, on any pretext, to conform to the liberal agenda. And their flimsy arguments could just as well be applied to churches and synagogues, the foundations of our civic culture. Yes, this case involves bigotry, but it isn't on the side of the Scouts….What, after all, are the characteristics of bigotry? A venomous rejection of any view contrary to one's own, a refusal even to entertain an opposing view with detachment, a denial of the legitimacy of disagreement, a total contempt for ancient tradition, and a militant eagerness to coerce those who disagree -- such attitudes are the very essence of bigotry, liberal-style…."

World Magazine 8/28/99 Gene Edward Veith "…The 2000 head count takes a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude toward marriage-and why that's tragic The new census, planned for the year 2000, will gather tons of information about Americans for the use of the federal government, policymakers, and social scientists. But a bit of information that the being counters do not much care about is whether you are married. The short form of the census process, which will be filled out by more than 80 percent of American households, will now omit any questions about marital status (although "Relationship to household" is included). Citizens will find no box to check to indicate whether they are married, single, widowed, or divorced. Nor will the census takers collect data on the living arrangements that are unprecedented in any culture: men and women living together without being married or homosexuals cohabiting with a "domestic partner." It isn't because the era of big government is over. The Census Bureau has not redesigned its short form simply to count the citizens, as the Constitution requires, to help divvy up the House of Representatives. The short form asks lots of questions about race, going into more detail than ever before. But when it comes to marriage, the federal government is adopting a policy of "don't ask, don't tell." …."

Washington Times 8/26/99 Andrea Billups "…A Minnesota teacher is calling on the state's Department of Human Rights to stop a male teacher at her school who dresses like a woman from using restrooms at the school designated for females. Computer instructor Carla Cruzan of Minneapolis filed a grievance last fall with state officials after she found Debra Davis, a "transgendered" librarian who is physically a man but wears women's clothing, using the women's faculty restroom…."

Houston Chronicle 9/1/99 Cal Thomas "…"Bigotry," like "racism," is one of those bazooka words used by the protected classes to silence people who disagree with them. The prospect of being called a bigot simply because one has a different opinion intimidates television network executives, military commanders, politicians and the medical profession, all of whom have tailored their beliefs and policies to avoid the brand of the scarlet or, in this case, the lavender B. But not radio talk-show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Because of her fervent belief that homosexual practice is wrong and that homosexuals, like fornicating heterosexuals, can change their behavior if they want to (and evidence of those who have successfully done so is available for anyone who is not a bigot), gay rights activists are targeting stations that carry her program and its sponsors for special intimidation in an effort to censor her…… Why are gay rights activists fearful of a single voice, especially her voice, in the face of such a huge media barrage? What happened to our cherished freedom to dissent from accepted orthodoxies? Homosexuals have demanded to be heard, and they are being heard. They have complained of efforts to silence them. Why do they now practice the same censorship they deplore in others? ….."

The Green Bay News-Chronicle 9/5/99 Cal Thomas "…."Bigotry," like "racism," is one of those bazooka words used by the protected classes to silence people who disagree with them. The prospect of being called a bigot simply because one has a different opinion intimidates television network executives, military commanders, politicians and the medical profession, all of whom have tailored their beliefs and policies to avoid the brand of the scarlet or, in this case, the lavender B. But not radio talk-show host Laura Schlessinger. Because of her fervent belief that homosexual practice is wrong and that homosexuals, like fornicating heterosexuals, can change theri behavior if they want to (and evidence of those who have successfully done so is available for anyone who is not a bigot), gay rights activists are targeting stations that carry her program and its sponsors for special intimidation in an effort to censor her. …."

Reuters 9/17/99 Washington Times Andrea Billups "…."I believe there is a growing climate of hostility that is directed against Christians .. . who find themselves as the targets of a great hostility in this culture," said William Merrell, a spokesman for the Southern BaptistConvention. A "disturbing double standard" is evident in the way attacks on Christians are viewed compared with crimes against other groups, a spokesman for the Family Research Council said. -- Continued from Front Page -- From the Matthew Shepard murder in Wyoming last year to the shootings last month at a Jewish community center in California, the media and many politicians moved swiftly to label those episodes of violence "hate crimes," said Robert Regnier, a cultural studies writer at the FRC. In the Texas church shootings, he said, "I just don't see any of that." …… " In recent years, politicians and others have frequently blamed "hatred" for headline-making crimes. After the April 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, President Clinton named G. Gordon Liddy among the conservative talk-show hosts he called "purveyors of hatred and division," saying they were "encouraging violence." Concerned over arson attacks on black churches in 1996, civil rights leader Joseph Lowery accused the Christian Coalition of fostering an "extremist climate." Gay-rights advocate Joan M. Garry suggested last fall's murder of Mr. Shepard, a homosexual university student, was the result of a conservative anti-homosexuality campaign she said "fuels the fires of bigotry. " Anti-Christian bias as a crime motive is routinely ignored by the news media, said Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Council. "The media were very quick in August to draw the conclusion that the shooter at the Los Angeles Jewish community center was motivated by anti-Semitism," Mr. Baker said, but with Wednesday's shootings at the Texas church, reporters are "being much more hesitant to assign a motive…."

Chuck Baldwin Live 9/17/99 "…. Conservative political activist, Paul Weyrich, recently asked the question, "Is America becoming a pagan nation?" The answer is a resounding, "Yes." Some would argue that America has already become a pagan nation. The Judeo/Christian value system that formed and guided our nation is no longer the dominant belief system of America’s mainstream culture. Granted, hundreds of thousands of churches dot America’s landscape. And, there are yet millions of people in this country that identify themselves as Christians. Yet, for all practical purposes, most of these churches have become relics and museums of a by gone era, and Christians now find themselves part of America’s sub-culture. Virtually every major body of cultural influence today is decidedly pagan. The entertainment industry routinely impugns and demonizes Christians and Christian values. The same is true for many public school classrooms. Military chaplains are instructed to not mention the name of Jesus. Some are even expected to perform pagan ceremonies…… Any pagan society is unsafe. In today’s pagan America babies are not safe in the wombs of their mothers, teens are not safe in their schools and people are not safe in their houses of worship. Another element of a pagan society is the intolerance demonstrated toward people of faith. In at least five of the last massacres to take place in this nation the victims were specifically targeted because they were Christians. Yet, in no instance did President Clinton or Attorney General Janet Reno identify these murders as "hate crimes." Can you imagine what their reaction would be if that instead of a Baptist church it would have been a homosexual congregation? Many newspapers didn't even bother to report the anti-Christian venom that the killer spewed out of his mouth as he slaughtered people in that Fort Worth church. Instead, the leaders of this new pagan America use the tragedy to argue for more gun control. Some are even calling for gun confiscation. …… "

Los Angeles Times Via Washington Post 9/19/99 "....From Jerry Falwell to Pat Robertson, James Dobson and D. James Kennedy, leaders of the Christian right uniformly decried last week what they called a double standard in treating Christian victims of violence. The recent shooting at a Granada Hills, Calif., Jewish community center and last year's murders of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming and James Byrd Jr. in Texas were rightly labeled as hate crimes against Jews, gays and blacks, respectively, the leaders said. But no such declaration has been made, they said, in the case of Wedgwood Baptist Church, where Larry Gene Ashbrook reportedly screamed anti-Christian expletives as he killed seven churchgoers. Nor, religious leaders say, were anti-Christian motives highlighted in the attacks on a high school prayer circle in West Paducah, Ky., in 1997 or this year at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., where the majority of victims were born-again Christians--including Cassie Bernall, who became a symbol of martyrdom when she was killed after reportedly affirming her faith in God. "There is a total absence of outrage over the killings at the Baptist church and in Colorado, as far as the religious aspect is concerned," televangelist Falwell said. "We have, whether intentional or not, built up a reservoir of hostility toward people of faith, particularly evangelical people." Evangelical leaders say Christians are suffering unparalleled persecution worldwide. Now, they argue, the attacks are taking place in America. "It would seem that killing Christians is on a far lower level of seriousness than anyone else being killed," said Kennedy. "Is that where we've come to as a Christian nation?" ...."

Ft. Worth Star Telegram 9/19/99 Bill Thompson ".....If Ashbrook gunned down churchgoers for no reason except that they were engaged in the practice of religion, then the shootings should qualify as a hate crime under any conceivable definition of the term. But let's face it: The hate-crime laws that are so popular nowadays are not being adopted for the benefit of Baptists. The laws have been prompted by violence against groups and individuals that have historically been targets of violent bigotry: racial minorities, Jews, homosexuals, women . . . Mainstream Christian religious organizations simply aren't thought of as victims of oppression in this country -- or they weren't before Wednesday. Larry Ashbrook may have changed all that....... One of the vicious bigots who dragged Texas resident James Byrd Jr. to his death in 1998 has already been convicted and sentenced to death. Would that killer's eventual lethal injection be any more deadly if he had been convicted under a hate-crime law? And if Ashbrook hadn't taken his own life after shooting 14 churchgoers, would Texas need a hate-crime law to prosecute him for a mass murder that may have been motivated by his apparent enmity for Christians? Of course not. Capital murder is capital murder, no matter what the motivation. .....Like so many laws passed by legislative bodies in this country, hate-crime laws are totally unnecessary....."

CNSNews.com 9/22/99 Thomas Jipping "...Why has this cultural jihad occurred all of a sudden? According to the Associated Press, officials of the pageant organization, which is headquartered in New Jersey, are afraid of violating the state's anti-discrimination law. What judges did to the Boy Scouts they could do to Miss America.... If you think that judges' decisions don't matter, just read the papers and look around your neighborhood. Judges told the people they cannot protect preborn children. Judges told the people they must tolerate pornography flowing through their communities, across their television screens, and even sold on military bases. Judges told school children they could not even look at the Ten Commandments, could not participate in prayer even if they wanted to, could not hear a passage from the Bible, and could not have God's blessing when they graduated. Judges have now told school children they may not pray before football game and told their parents they may not pray before school board meetings. Judges told the people they may not encourage citizen legislatures with term limits and must use their tax dollars for welfare for illegal aliens. Judges told people who do not want to discriminate by race that they must do so. Judges told the people that the only explanation about human origins that may be taught is Darwinian evolution. Judges told the people that men and women are the same and that any other view is an impermissible stereotype. Judges told the people that any moral objection to homosexuality is nothing but hate. And judges are telling the people that the last vestiges of morality, propriety, and tradition are simply exercises in discrimination and have to go as well. Folks, the most damaging cultural, social, economic, and political developments of the last two generations have come not from the statehouse but from the courthouse. Judges are twiddling while our culture is burning. I hope it's not too late....."

The Claremont Institute 9/22/99 Larry Arnn No 192 "....One of the high rules of public controversy is never torepeat criticism of oneself. But we have been attacked in the pages of Penthouse Magazine, and we cannot let thehonor pass. Penthouse is, of course, a high moral authority, second perhaps only to Larry Flynt's Hustler. That priest of the New Order has even been celebrated in a movie produced by another high cleric, Oliver Stone...In this New Order, Penthouse and Hustler now take on moral authority from the feature that has long made them popular: They are full of pictures of naked women. This is brave. This is free. This is good. No longer is it necessary to apologize that one "only reads the articles." ..... In the New Order, family is slavery. Husbands and fathers are the slave masters. Wives are brood cattle, unless they do not have children, in which case through the wonders of cosmetic surgery they can be happy, or anyway widely admired. Sex is purely private, and because of this, its public performance is good--or at least necessary.....In a development that will please our own fathers and mothers, who labored to keep us away from Penthouse and its like, we have run afoul of this New Order. In a recent article, "Out of God's Sight," Penthouse purports to expose a conservative conspiracy to incite violence against homosexuals and defeat hate-crimes legislation. ....And so we invite Mr. Rosen and Penthouse's editors to read a little about the condition of children who lack the loveof parents; the condition of women so commonly abused by others, not their husbands, with whom they have sex; the spread of disease that is the natural concomitant of promiscuity; the sadness of a person used by many and loved by none. Finally, we invite them to compare the weak and self destructive pleasures of Penthouse, to those deeper, higher, and more enduring pleasures of marriage. In the 4th century B.C., the old fogey Aristotle knew that happiness means more pleasure, too. Regarding even pleasure, the avant garde Penthouse itself is a promise not kept....."

Voice of America, via News Plus 9/24/99 Michael Leland "….Last year, a series of advertisements in many large newspapers in the United States suggested homosexuals could become heterosexual through counseling and prayer. The ads were run on behalf of Exodus International, a Christian-based organization that provides such counseling. The organization's leadership credits those advertisements for the large turnout at this year's convention, held near Chicago. Gay and lesbian support organizations say the messages of the advertisements, and of Exodus International, are dangerous. ……"I thought that I was hopelessly gay. I thought that I would never change, that I would never be happy. Now I know the truth. I am learning the truth." Exodus International is headed by Bob Davies, who says he was homosexual, but is now married. He likens his organization to Alcoholics Anonymous, which uses counseling and support to help those with drinking problems. Davies: "We are here basically as an option for men and women who want our support. Just like AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) does not go into bars and drag people kicking and screaming into their meetings. They are simply there as a resource for people who want to stop drinking. Similarly, we exist as a support for people who want to change their sexual orientation." But Exodus International message is upsetting to gay and lesbian organizations. Rick Garcia directs the Chicago-based Illinois Federation for Human Rights, the state's largest gay-rights group. Garcia: "The suggestion that one can change their sexual orientation is not only inaccurate, it is also extremely offensive to gay and lesbian people and right-thinking people." …."

World Net Daily 10/4/99 David Bresnahan "....Despite heavy criticism and controversy, as well as an expensive lawsuit, one church refuses to back down from a controversial stand on homosexual marriage. There can be no compromise when it comes to defending truth and right, according to President Gordon B. Hinckley of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Hinckley is regarded as a modern prophet of God by more than 10 million members of the church worldwide...."

CNSNews.com (Conservative News Service) 10/4/99 Justin Torres "....At the recent Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network national conference, entitled attendees and organizers used strong rhetoric in describing the "Religious Right," or "wingers, as one presenter termed religious conservatives. Steven K. Green, general counsel for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, distributed a factsheet on "Leading Religious Right Organizations," including the American Family Association, the Christian Coalition, Concerned Women for America, the Family Research Council, and the Eagle Forum.....Green laid out his views on the priorities of the Religious Right, including "watering down" sex education, school vouchers, the defeat of anti-harassment policies, and parental rights amendments, which he called "extremely pernicious. . . . They allow parents to interject their religious feelings and philosophies into school curriculum." Added Green, "[The Religious Right] is not about to admit that they just want to bash gays if they can. . . . You have to remember, Sunday after Sunday millions of people come to church to hear the diatribes."....."

CNSNews.com 10/4/99 Justin Torres "....More than 700 teachers, administrators, high school and college students, and homosexual activists gathered in downtown Atlanta this weekend to strategize on how to make schools around the nation more homosexual-friendly. The third annual national conference of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) featured a keynote address by civil rights activist and Georgia Democrat Rep. John Lewis, comic relief by comedienne Margaret Cho, a "prom" for homosexual youth, and symposia on topics such as "Responding to the Religious Right" and "Addressing GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered) Issues in Middle School." ...... "The fear of the Religious Right is that the schools of today are the governments of tomorrow," said Deanna Duby of the National Education Association at a symposium. "And you know what, they're right." "If we do our jobs right," added James Anderson, director of communications for GLSEN, " we're going to raise a generation of kids who don't believe [the claims of] the Religious Right." ...."

CNSNews.com 10/5/99 "....While New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was taking a pounding this past weekend over bogus accusations of trying to gut the 1st Amendment because of an art exhibit that violates the taxpayer-financed Brooklyn Museum's lease with the city, a genuine and far more frightening assault on freedom of the press was launched in Atlanta. More than 700 homosexual activists gathered in that city to outline their plan to advance the homosexual agenda. Among their primary targets are reporters and the news media, which according to some, are just too hung up on getting all sides of the story. The Atlanta conference, sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, included a symposium on how to respond to people who oppose homosexuality based on millennia-old cultural and religious beliefs. One particular activist counseled attendees to "have those tough conversations with journalists," and disabuse them of their "misguided notions of balance," in reporting stories about the homosexual agenda. The goal, according to Cathy Renna, who works as the director of community relations for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is to "convince (journalists) that there is no other side to these issues." ...."

AP wire 10/12/99 Jordan Lite "……Activists accused the Rev. Jerry Falwell of promoting violence such as the beating death of a gay Wyoming college student as he led conservative Christians in urging gays to renounce homosexuality. ``Christian bigots out of our city!'' cried Josh Trenter, who was hauled away by police after allegedly tossing a blueberry pie during Monday's ``Come Out of Homosexuality'' event. He and another member of a gay rights group were cited for battery and released. Declaring that ``God loves you and so do I,'' Falwell, who appeared via satellite, told the audience of about 60 that ``just as people can come out of the closet, so can people choose to come out against a sinful lifestyle.'' The presentation was designed ``to reach out to the homosexual community in a spirit of love,'' said Allen Wildmon, a spokesman for the American Family Association, a conservative Christian group that sponsored the event with Falwell, the former leader of the now-defunct Moral Majority. ….."

Freeper sinkspur 9/1/99 "…LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles Roman Catholic bishop and a priest have resigned from a national gay and lesbian ministries association after disciplinary action by the Vatican against two East Coast Catholic ministers to gays. Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala and the Rev. Peter Liuzzi, director of the Los Angeles archdiocese's gay and lesbian ministry, confirmed Monday that they had resigned from the National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries….."

The Weekly Standard 9/20/99 Pia Nordlinger "….THE CULTURAL LEFT IS TIRED of getting beat up for being anti-family. So, a small but influential number of academics, social critics, and policy types have come up with a new gambit: They are anti-marriage but pro-parenthood. They are pro-parenthood because they are unable any longer to deny that parents are important to the well-being of children. They are anti-marriage because they are deeply committed to denying any privileged status to the traditional family, with its two parents of opposite sexes who are married to each other. Parents, according to this new line of thought, can be single, divorced, married, "cohabiting," gay, lesbian, whatever. The result will be the same, provided that they are committed to the child; children need parents, but the existence and nature of any commitment to each other is beside the point. This argument recently attracted attention when American Psychologist published "Deconstructing the Essential Father," a study that attempted to prove that "a wide variety of family structures can support positive child outcomes." The authors, Louise B. Silverstein and Carl E. Auerbach, professors at Yeshiva University, were candid about their intentions: "We do not believe that the data support the conclusion that fathers are essential to child well-being and that heterosexual marriage is the social context in which responsible fathering is most likely to occur." Public policy that favors the traditional family, Silverstein and Auerbach argue, "discriminates against cohabiting couples, single mothers, and gay and lesbian parents." The authors are therefore "interested in encouraging public policy that supports the legitimacy of diverse family structures, rather than policy that privileges the two-parent heterosexual, married family. …."

San Francisco Chronicle 10/5/99 Carla Marinucci, Ed Epstein "....The battle over the state initiative defining marriage as a one-man, one-woman relationship flared in the presidential campaign yesterday when San Francisco supervisors called for an investigation of the Mormon Church's tax-exempt status -- an action Republican presidential hopeful Orrin Hatch called ``bigoted and prejudiced.'' Hatch, 65, a U.S. senator from Utah and a devout Mormon, spoke in San Francisco as supervisors unanimously passed a resolution calling on the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the tax-exempt status of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some church leaders have urged members to financially support California's Knight Initiative. Hatch, in an interview with The Chronicle, said he strongly supports the initiative, a measure on the March 2000 ballot that would bar the state from recognizing gay or lesbian marriage. But the senator also said he believes that gays and lesbians deserve respect and may ``need some sort of recognition for a monogamous relationship.'' Still, the powerful chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee lambasted as idiotic the vote by the San Francisco board, which charges that the Mormon Church has been so outspoken on the Knight Initiative that it could be violating IRS rules forbidding churches to engage in ``substantial lobbying or political activity.'' ....."

Fox news 10/14/99 Reuters "….A state senator who is sponsoring a ballot measure that would ban gay marriages in California was criticized Thursday by his gay son, who called the measure "blind'' and "uncaring.'' David Knight, a cabinet maker in Baltimore, wrote an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times attacking Republican Pete Knight's initiative. "I believe, based on my experience, that his is a blind, uncaring, uninformed, knee-jerk reaction to a subject about which he knows nothing and wants to know nothing, but which serves his political career,'' he wrote. A spokesman for the senator said he was not immediately available for comment. The senator acknowledged publicly in 1996 that his son, who like him is a former fighter pilot, is gay and that the senator's brother died of AIDS. …"

NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE 10/14/99 David Elliot "….A central part of this new emphasis will be the Body Politic Workout, a series of day-long seminars that will focus on individual and team leadership development, fundraising, media skills, grassroots organizing, lobbying, electoral strategies and organizational planning. The entire Body Politic Workout will take place during the Creating Change conference, and is free to conference registrants. "The Body Politic Workout reflects the core mission of Creating Change: to train and build the skills of the activists that staff the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender movement's many organizations and projects," said Sue Hyde, NGLTF field organizer and director of Creating Change. "Through increased training and organizing, we flex our collective political muscle. That is what the Body Politic Workout is all about."….. NGLTF thanks the 1999 Creating Change Corporate Sponsors: Pacific Bell, Wells Fargo Foundation, Gay.com, PlanetOut, HERO Magazine, Harvey Milk Institute, BREATH-The California Smoke-Free Bar Program/A Statewide Project of the American Lung Association, the Advocate, and Olivia Cruises and Resorts. American Airlines is the official carrier for the Creating Change Conference…."

AP 10/14/99 "….Republicans would like to remove legislation that would expand federal civil rights law to cover homosexuals from a larger bill, but Democrats say they'll fight to keep it in. ``Hate crimes are modern-day lynchings,'' Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said Wednesday. ``Congress has a responsibility to act this year.'' Senate Democrats succeeded in July in adding the measure to a spending bill for the Commerce, Justice and State departments. The House version of the bill does not include the gay rights measure…."

Chattanooga Free Press 10/14/99 "....Regular readers of Dr. Laura's Sunday column in this newspaper may remember reading about how the U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution last summer condemning an article published by the American Psychological Association. It argued shockingly that sex between adults and "willing" children might not be so bad after all. The House resolution passed 355-0 with 13 abstentions, 11 of those being Democrats. There's hope for the Democrats yet, if only 11 of them are soft on child molestation. But what about the leader of their party, our Oval Office Lothario, President Bill Clinton? White House spokesman Joe Lockhart, when asked about the House resolution, responded: "Once we've had a chance to review it, I'm sure we'll take a position." One week later, Mr. Clinton's "position" on child molestation was still not forthcoming, so, naturally, the Republicans made something of it. Then, at the daily White House press briefing, a radio reporter named Les Kinsolving quoted from a Republican National Committee press release about Mr. Clinton's silence and asked Mr. Lockhart, "Does this motivate you into another evasion, or not?" Mr. Lockhart said, "It motivates me not to call on you anymore." The follow-up question: "Are you serious?" Mr. Lockhart: "Yes. And go ahead and tell your viewers, your listeners -- that will be fine. Call the RNC and fill them in -- I'm sure there's some more paper they can churn out tomorrow." ....."

Salon.com 10/11/99 Sara Douglas Hart ".....More than 1,800 lesbians, gay men and more than a few heterosexual supporters poured into the Sheraton New York Hotel to hear the first U.S. president ever to address a gay and lesbian group in New York state. Guests paid at least $350 for the privilege of hearing Clinton speak to them. The dinner and live auction took in a reported $1 million, the largest sum ever raised in a single event (not related to AIDS) by a lesbian and gay group in the United States. And they were richly rewarded with a speech that catered more to his audience than the one he gave at a better-publicized event honoring Clinton in Los Angeles last week. In his speech, Clinton rattled off a laundry list of laudable achievements his administration has made on behalf of the gay and lesbian community. During his two terms, Clinton has tapped more than 200 gays and lesbians for federally appointed positions -- including James Hormel, who became the country's first openly gay ambassador. He inked an executive order prohibiting discrimination in the federal work force and mandated that federal security clearances no longer be denied based on sexual orientation. The Clinton administration also increased AIDS drug assistance from $52 million to $461, and funding for Ryan White CARE programs has increased by 290 percent. He also addressed one of his biggest policy failures: "That awful battle that I waged and didn't win over the military service issue," which ultimately resulted in the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" military policy that has dramatically increased the number of gays and lesbians discharged from the military because of their sexual orientation. But there was nary a mention of Clinton's support for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act prohibiting same-sex marriages....."

Des Moines Register 10/16/99 Perry Beeman David Yepsen "….Republican leaders in the Iowa Legislature blasted Gov. Tom Vilsack's gay civil-rights order Friday, and one asked the governor to scrap the special anti-discrimination effort in state government. "Iowa should be on the cutting edge of educating our children, not the cutting edge of extending civil rights to transsexuals," Senate Majority Leader Stewart Iverson, a Republican from Dows, said in a statement. In an interview, he added: "I have friends who are homosexual, but they do their job and that isn"t the issue. When you talk about gender identity and transsexuals, that is unbelievable. I believe every American should not be discriminated against, but how far do you go in setting up special classes of people?" Vilsack, a Democrat, defended the order on a WHO radio program and in an interview. The measure bans discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in state government jobs; protection he said was needed to make Iowa more attractive to a diverse work force….."

AP via Newsday.com 10/17/99 David Crary "....With a mother's love, Kathleen Crandell writes every week to two girls she cannot visit. Whether they get the letters, she doesn't know. Crandell helped raise the girls before splitting with her lesbian partner and considers them her daughters. Distraught when excluded from their lives, she sued for visitation rights -- and lost. Under California law, she has no greater right to access than a stranger....... ``The courts aren't used to looking at people without a biological relationship as being a child's parent,'' says Michael Adams, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union's lesbian and gay rights project. ``We are forced to work within laws passed by legislatures that simply never considered these circumstances, and we can get some very unfortunate results.'' ....... Kauffman is frustrated by the tactics some lesbian mothers use to oppose visitation rights. ``We've been working so hard for so many decades to gain respect,'' she says. ``Then to have people within our own community use homophobic law against other gay and lesbian people -- that really troubles me. If we don't respect our own relationships, how can we expect other people to respect them?'' ...."

Boston Globe 10/19/99 Judith Gaines "....In 1969, when police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village, its gay patrons believed they were harassed because of their lifestyle and vowed not to let it happen again. It was a watershed event that helped to politicize gays and lesbians around the country. Some say Boston will soon be the site of another defining moment in gay and lesbian history: Stonewall Communities, a retirement community like no other. ''This project will give gays and lesbians one of the first visionary models for a community that draws on the best in retirement thinking done to this point, and tailors it to us,'' said Janet Stambolian, 51, director of a design and construction company in Burlington, Vt., and one of the organizers of the new community...... Plans for the development grew out of a survey done in conjunction with Gerontological Services, Inc., and sent to 3,600 gays and lesbians, age 40 and older, in the six New England states and upstate New York. Of the 328 who responded, 86 percent said they would like to live in a gay and lesbian environment as they age. Some had heard stories about harassment of homosexuals at places like Sun City, Ariz., and some senior housing facilities in the South...."

NewsMax.com 10/19/99 Kim Bonney "..... Sex in study hall? Sex on the school bus? Sound far-fetched. Not to a group of middle school parents in Northern, Virginia, who recently found out their middle schoolers were engaging in oral sex. Nationwide, educators says it's happening more than you think. Just ask your average middle schooler. "Definitely, I think that it's been done forever. I don't think that it's just now, oh my God, oral sex," says one girl. "A lot of people don't consider that having sex, so they still say they're a virgin but they will do that," adds another. Kids call it the "anything but intercourse" approach to sex. Oral sex is a growing trend among many of today's young people. Recently, officials at an Arlington, Virginia middle school found out a group of 13 and 14 year olds had been engaging in oral sex parties in parents' homes and local parks......"What we have lost and what is missing from virtually every sex education curriculum across the country is some notion that sexuality for everybody, for adults as well as kids, is not just a physical act. It is also a spiritual act and a moral act with enormous consequences," says cultural critic Michael Medved. Consequences like the highest rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia of any age group. Already, one out of four young people will acquire a sexually transmitted disease before the age of 20....... But this "anything goes" sex ed approach is nothing new -- and is even subsidized by taxpayer's money. Organizations like Planned Parenthood and SIECUS, the Sex Information and Education Council, in their literature encourage young people to experiment sexually. Planned Parenthood, which received $165-million federal tax dollars in 1998, recommends on its web site, Teenwire, "Outercourse with many partners can be safer than intercourse with only one." SIECUS, which was awarded a five-year grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to develop guidelines for sex education, among other things, says, "Starting at age nine, children should be taught that there are many ways -- such as mutual masturbation and oral sex -- to give and receive sexual pleasure." "Who writes something like that to children? Only someone who chooses to exploit them, or someone who just hates innocence for it's own sake," says Reisman. ....."

Investors Business Daily 10/22/99 ".... In an uncommon display of rationality, Congress has dropped a proposal to expand federal hate crimes. It's a refreshing development, given Washington's penchant for federalizing everything in sight...... By the expanded definition, offenses against victims who are targeted because of their sexual preference, gender or disability would have been considered hate crimes. Federal hate crimes apply now only when the victim is chosen because of race, religion or national origin..... First, crime is a local responsibility. Federal jurisdiction over crime is confined by the Constitution to a limited number of offenses. Clearly, the states don't need federal intrusion.....Second, establishing higher punishment for similar offenses based on the victim is preferential treatment under the law. The 14th Amendment requires that laws be applied equally.....Robberies, kidnappings, rapes, murders - they're all depraved. Those who commit them should be severely punished. That doesn't mean the government should play favorites in prosecuting crime. The life, liberty and property of a gay minority female are no more valuable - or less valuable - than those of a straight white male. Similar crimes should carry similar punishment, regardless of who's the victim....."

The Washington Times 10/22/99 Joyce Howard Price "..... Most of the nation has not heard about two homosexual men who face the death penalty in Arkansas, charged with raping and torturing a 13-year-old boy to death last month. The brutal crime against Prairie Grove, Ark., seventh-grader Jesse Dirkhising -- who was raped repeatedly and suffocated with his own underwear in the pre-dawn hours of Sept. 26 -- was reported by news organizations in Arkansas and also covered by newspapers in Oklahoma and Tennessee. But the boy's death did not receive national media attention. Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the Media Research Center, said he is not surprised. "Nobody wants to say anything negative about homosexuals. Nobody wants to be seen on the wrong side of that issue," said Mr. Gra-ham, who sees "political correctness" at work....."

The Washington Post 10/22/99 Caryle Murphy ".... Sharone Belt last visited the Rev. Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg 20 years ago, when her father's Riverdale Baptist Church sent its youth choir for a guest appearance. Then a teenager, Belt's conservative Christian upbringing had convinced her that being homosexual was "following the devil's path." Tomorrow, the Annandale resident will return to Falwell's church. But this time, the 33-year-old lesbian will be part of what organizers are calling a historic event: a meeting between Falwell and 200 other evangelical Christians and 200 gays and lesbians led by the Rev. Mel White, a gay rights advocate who was once Falwell's ghostwriter. Both Falwell and White are billing the 90-minute "Anti-Violence Forum," in which participants will discuss violence directed against both gays and Christians, as a breakthrough in the long-running hostility between evangelical Christians and gay rights advocates. ...."Through the years, evangelicals, Jerry Falwell included, have been too strident in their condemnations of the [homosexual] lifestyle to the point that we were not communicating adequate love to the gays and lesbians themselves," Falwell said....."

WorldNetDaily 10/22/99 Joseph Farah ".....But when Prairie Grove, Ark., police responded to a 911 emergency call at 5 a.m. Sept. 26, they found 13-year-old Jesse Dirkhising on the floor, unconscious, near death, one of his wrists bound with duct tape. A half-hour later, he was pronounced dead at St. Mary's Hospital in Roger. A police investigation determined young Jesse was repeatedly raped over a period of hours, including with foreign objects. While enduring this ordeal, his ankles, knees and wrists were bound in duct tape and he was gagged and blindfolded. He was tied to a mattress. He may have been drugged, police say. A sedative called amitryptiline was found in the home of two men -- Joshua Brown, 22, and David Don Carpenter, 38 -- along with Jesse's body. There were other drugs, too -- and items commonly used in sexual bondage. .....It was big news in Northwest Arkansas, but the story of Jesse Dirkhising hasn't made a ripple in the national news. I wonder why? I wonder if it's because the victim is not a part of some politically protected sub-group, a special class deserving of extra government privileges? I wonder if it is because the suspects are, indeed, members of such a group. Remember how the nation stood riveted to the details of a hideous murder that took place in Wyoming when a homosexual was tortured to death? Never mind that the crime had little or nothing to do with the victim's sexual proclivities. Uh-uh. That didn't matter. This was a hate crime. New laws were needed. New brainwashing programs must be introduced into the schools. New sensitivity outreach projects were required by all media outlets. Bill Clinton sounded off. Janet Reno chimed in....."

CNSNews.com 10/27/99 Lawrence Morahan "….The rape and murder of a 13-year-old Arkansas boy allegedly at the hands of a homosexual couple was a "horrible death that could have been prevented," the boy's grandmother told CNSNews.com. Betty Yates, the grandmother of 13-year-old Jesse Dirkhising, said the boy's parents never should have allowed the child to stay overnight with the two men. "The parents put him in a situation he shouldn't have been in," Yates told CNSNews.com. "They knowingly let him spend weekends with the two guys knowing they were gay." Yates' comments concur with a statement by Joshua Macave Brown, 22, who told police he and the victim had been sexually involved for approximately two months, and the boy died during sex "games," according to a police affidavit released to CNSNews.com….."

CNSNews.com 10/27/99 Lawrence Morahan "….According to the affidavit, Brown told police that on the morning of September 26, he sneaked up on the boy, tied his hands behind his back, placed a pair of undershorts in the teen's mouth and secured the briefs with a bandana and duct tape. He said he blindfolded the youth, bound him to a bed and repeatedly sodomized him while Carpenter watched. "Jesse was a typical 13-year-old good kid," Yates said. "You do not put a 13-year-old child into a situation like that. It had been going on for about two months and he had told them he did not want to go back." Yates, who told CNSNews.com that relations between her and the boy's mother, Tina Yates, were strained even before she learned of her grandson's death, said that during a family visit some months previously, Tina Yates said she was excited that the gay couple had taken an interest in her son….."

Washington Post 10/27/99 Charles Babington "....President Clinton is using his 11th-hour budget battle with Congress to try to broaden the federal "hate crimes" law, primarily by adding homosexuals to its category of protected groups. The proposal, a goal of many gay rights groups, would authorize federal prosecution of persons accused of violent crimes motivated by the victim's sexual orientation, gender or disability. Currently, only a victim's race or religion can trigger a federal intervention. The proposed legislation would also broaden the circumstances under which federal prosecutors could get involved in cases classified as hate crimes, typically when local prosecutors either invite them in or, conversely, decline to prosecute an alleged crime themselves....."

WHITE HOUSE 10/25/99 "…..Q Joe, since the President spoke out so commendably about the murder of adult homosexual Matt Shepard in Wyoming, I'm wondering what was his reaction to the repeated rape and murder of 13-year-old Jesse Dirkhising (phonetic) by two adult homosexual men in Arkansas?

MR. LOCKHART: I don't know that the President is aware of that circumstance.

Q It was page one of the Washington Times on Saturday. Don't you read that paper, Joe?

MR. LOCKHART: No, I don't normally do, nor do I think the President. But I think --

Q Could you possibly -- could you ask him?

MR. LOCKHART: I think as a matter of general principle, the President abhors any kind of violent act. And we have worked very hard over the last seven years in a very productive way to reduce crime in this country.

Q As his media advisor, were you surprised that while the murder of an adult, Shepard, received enormous coverage in the big media, this multiple rape and murder of a child went so widely unreported ?

MR. LOCKHART: I try to keep my media criticisms to myself. …"

ABCNews 11/1/99 AP "…..The judge in the Matthew Shepard murder case barred the man on trial Monday from using a "gay panic" defense. Lawyers for Aaron McKinney rested their case several hours later. District Judge Barton Voigt ruled that the strategy adopted by McKinney's lawyers in the beating death of the gay college student is akin to temporary insanity or a diminished-capacity defense-both of which are prohibited under Wyoming law….. A "gay panic" or "homosexual panic" defense is built on the theory that a person with latent gay tendencies will have an uncontrollable, violent reaction when propositioned by a homosexual……Some gay rights leaders have condemned the "gay panic" defense as a blame-the-victim strategy. However, Bill Dobbs, a gay New York lawyer and civil rights advocate, said the defense should be allowed wide latitude in death penalty cases….."Gay panic exists and any gay man knows that just holding the gaze of a straight man on the street and giving him the idea that you might be sexually interested can create a dangerous situation," he said……"

CNSNews.com 11/1/99 Lawrence Morahan "….Commenting on the rape and murder of a 13-year-old Arkansas boy allegedly at the hands of a homosexual couple, gay groups told CNSNews.com that in the interests of justice, investigators and the media should focus on the crime and not on the sexual orientation of the alleged perpetrators. "It's a tragedy when anyone dies in this way, and anyone who kills them should suffer the severest consequences of the law, no matter what 'side' they are," Mel White, a gay minister and author, told CNSNews.com. White said the media attention surrounding the killing of 13-year-old Jesse Dirkhising in Arkansas and that of homosexual student Matthew Shepard, 22, in Wyoming last year "mustn't be our indicator of how deeply people mourn the losses." …… The Shepard slaying received broad coverage in the media, and reinvigorated the national debate on the need for special legislation for hate crimes, which are defined as anything from murder to assault against a citizen because of his or her race, religion, gender, national origin or sexual orientation. By contrast, the Dirkhising murder received scant national coverage. The boy was found close to death at the apartment of two men, who police also described as homosexual lovers. …..Christopher D. Plumlee, deputy prosecuting attorney for Benton County, Ark., who investigated Jesse's death, told reporters he was a "little surprised" at the limited coverage this "horrible crime against a child" received. ….. "

The Associated Press 10/29/99 Donna De la Cruz "….Incidents of domestic violence involving gay couples in the New York City area increased nearly 25 percent in 1998 from the previous year, according to a report released Thursday by the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project. Diane Soto, the program's domestic violence program coordinator, said there were 506 reported incidents in 1998, up from 421 in 1997….."

Associated Press 10/29/99 David Lieb "….Something so unspeakable is said to have taken place in Apartment 1207 that half the neighbors have moved out. It was in 1207 that police say a 13-year-old boy was sexually brutalized and murdered last month by the two men who lived there. According to police, Davis Carpenter Jr., 38, and Joshua Brown, 22, drugged and blindfolded Jesse Dirkhising, gagged him with underwear and strapped him to a mattress face-down with duct tape and belts. Then the boy was repeatedly raped and sodomized with various objects before he suffocated because of the position he was in, investigators said. At the apartment, police found handwritten instructions and a diagram of how to position the boy. Other notes described apparently unfulfilled fantasies of molesting other children……. The allegations are so shocking that half the tenants in the six-unit apartment building - situated across the street from a park with baseball fields and tennis courts - have moved out…..Jesse's mother, Tina Yates, said Carpenter had been friends with her husband - the boy's stepfather - for about seven years….."

Associated Press 10/30/99 Rachel Collins "….After serving nearly 10 years in a Texas prison for molesting an 11-year-old boy, Jon Savarino Schillaci wanted to start a new life. And a Deerfield family that had been writing to him since he was convicted wanted to help him. So when he was released two months ago, they let him move in with them. But police say Mr. Schillaci's past wasn't so easily left behind. On Monday the family's 5-year-old boy told his parents that he and Jon "have a secret," according to Deerfield police Sgt. Steve Turner. That secret resulted in Mr. Schillaci being charged with aggravated felonious sexual assault. But he disappeared before police could arrest him, and now authorities nationwide are searching for him…..Sgt. Turner said the couple apparently was aware of Mr. Schillaci's criminal record. He said authorities are not pursuing any charges - such as endangering a child - against the parents at this time….."

Associated Press 10/30/99 "….A man testified Friday that he was the object of a sexual advance by Matthew Shepard hours before the gay college student was pistol-whipped into a coma and left to die. "It was really offensive to me," Michael St. Clair told jurors as the defense opened its case in Aaron McKinney's murder trial. "It set off something inside. It made me angry." McKinney, 22, is charged with robbery, kidnapping, and murder, and could be sentenced to death if convicted….."

Worldnet Daily 8/28/99 S L Goldman ".....On a recent evening, Martha Hovie was sitting in a local nightclub waiting to see a band called Gender Bender. As Hovey looked over at the table next to her, she saw something strange going on. She looked again, making sure she was seeing right. At the table, a skinny guy was kneeling between the legs of a larger, leather-jacketed fellow, fellating him. Shocked, Hovie pointed this out to the couple sharing her table.... "What I didn't realize at the time was that almost the entire room was gay" Hovie said. It didn't take her long, however. People started yelling obscenities at her. Hovie yelled back. The fervor increased. A flying ashtray hit her in the forehead, opening a bloody gash. She ran to get a bouncer, who refused to help. Finally, Hovie was literally driven from the club (which is not known as a homosexual nightspot), people shouting cries of "kill the bitch!" at her back. As she made her way through the hostile crowd, the guy who'd been on the receiving end of the act of fellatio confronted her and spit in her face. "I'm normally not someone who'll take that stuff," said Hovie, "but frankly, I was scared for my life. I'd never experienced a bunch of militant gays, and lemme tell you -- it was really frightening. That place was like a war zone." Hovie's comments are right on target....."

Worldnet Daily 8/28/99 S L Goldman ".....I know that this issue may seem old hat. Today, homosexuality is -- except by a small minority -- largely accepted as an "alternative lifestyle." It is no longer thought of as what it actually is -- a spiritual disease and a total perversion of life. Because of this, I believe it is important that we look at this issue afresh. Because if we're not appalled at the behavior of homosexuals, we've been brainwashed. Homosexuals and their allies have a whole battery of verbal artillery which is implicitly designed to condone their behavior. In its mildest form, this gayspeak is a subtle, but highly effective method of conditioning. In its most blatant form, it is nothing less than brainwashing. The prime word, of course, is "homophobic." By classifying heterosexuals who don't approve of them as "phobic," homosexuals have effectively shifted the burden of proof, as it were, upon their critics. The implication is that homophobia is something to be overcome, rather than a normal reaction to behavior which, throughout history, has been considered by the populace at large to be deviant. Generally, one doesn't hear heterosexuals calling homosexuals "heterophobic," though -- in light of current societal standards -- this would be more correct...."

Worldnet Daily 8/28/99 S L Goldman ".....If you disapprove of homosexuals, you are called "prejudiced" or branded a "sexist." If you condemn their acts as unnatural you are the victim of "negative programming." If you openly state your anti-homosexual beliefs you are "bigoted." With enough repetition of these emotionally loaded terms, people ultimately become psychologically bullied into accepting behavior that they once considered abnormal. This is precisely the desired effect that the militant homosexuals hope for. Of course, homosexuals will attempt to use this same logic regarding people who classify their acts as unnatural. But heterosexuals have biological and scientific data as a foundation for their beliefs, whereas homosexual gayspeak has no basis in reality. Rather, it is specifically designed to play upon the emotions. Given the amount of sympathy in evidence for homosexuals today, it's quite evident that these propagandistic techniques have been highly effective

Worldnet Daily 8/28/99 S L Goldman ".....Yet the reason they are categorized homosexuals, is precisely because of their sexual proclivities. Terms like "gay pride," or "positive gay self-image," are specifically designed to obfuscate the central issue, which is sex. In gayspeak, "gay lifestyle," means a lifestyle in which two men perform sodomy and oral intercourse on one another. Similarly, "gay pride" literally means pride in sodomy, anilingus, fistf---ing, etc. ...... Homosexuality is described by their apologists as simply a "variant" of normal sexual behavior. However, upon closer inspection, this statement is meaningless. Using that same where-do-we-draw-the-line rhetoric, any behavior -- including incest, pedophilia and bestiality -- could be designated as a "variant" of normal human behavior....."

Worldnet Daily 8/28/99 S L Goldman ".....Consider this in light of the statement made by Dr. Harold Feinstein of the Centers For Disease Control: "From a purely biological perspective, sodomy is an intrinsically unsanitary and pathological act. Empirical medical evidence clearly demonstrates that the rectum is not designed for intromission by penises, fists, forearms, etc. Physiologically, the rectum is designed for the expulsion of feces. When sodomy is performed, the peculiar forced inward expansion of the anal canal results in a tearing of the lining as well as bleeding anal fissure. "The damage to the rectal wall facilitates access to the bloodstream of AIDS-infected sperm and other disease causing organisms." The result of engaging in sodomy -- as well as the other grossly unsanitary acts commonly practiced by homosexuals -- is that STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) are higher among homosexuals than in any other subculture. Many diseases are endemic to that group. The diseases commonly found (40 percent or higher) among homosexuals include: gonorrhea, nonspecific urethritis, syphilis, hepatitis, amebic dysentery, salmonella, intestinal parasites, shigellosis, venereal warts, incurable genital herpes, and the Big Daddy -- AIDS, which has clearly been linked to homosexual behavior...."

Worldnet Daily 8/28/99 S L Goldman ".....Incredibly, even with the evidence staring them in the face, the medical community -- and homosexual doctors in particular -- continue to employ doubletalk or to impart outright misinformation regarding the transmission of the AIDS virus. "We can't really say for certain that AIDS is transmitted sexually," said one homosexual physician. "It's just that it appears to be." What? Besides anal intercourse, other behavior commonly engaged in by homosexuals include various sadomasochistic acts, bondage and discipline (master and slave games), golden showers (urinating on one's partner or drinking urine), scat (eating human feces), sticking various items (everything from butter knives to Polish sausage to gerbils) up each other's rectums, fistf---ing (shoving the fist and sometimes the entire arm up the partner's rectum) and bestiality....."

Worldnet Daily 8/28/99 S L Goldman ".....One group that still continues to function within the homosexual community is the Fistf---ers Of America. Despite the fact that the death rate has been as high as 50 percent among men who practice it, proponents of this subhuman act of perversion continue to make a case for its pleasurable effects. "It's so relaxing," one homosexual told the Advocate. "We all carry a lot of tension in our anus, and to break that up is tremendous. To me, getting fistf---ed is like getting a heavy massage. The relaxation lasts all day long." When regarded in the cold, clinical light of reality, it is clear that none of these are acts of love. Rather, they are acts of degradation, pain and hate. They are anti-life. For people who engage in these acts to call themselves "lovers" is pure blasphemy....."

Worldnet Daily 8/28/99 S L Goldman ".....Another spurious notion currently in vogue is that education is the key to solving the AIDS crisis. This idea makes the false assumption that because people know the facts, they will change their behavior. On the contrary. A recent issue of The American Journal Of Public Health presented a study of sexual behavior taken from a cross section of homosexuals in San Francisco, Calif., which revealed a rather grim scenario: 92 percent of the men asserted they were still not taking the most basic prophylactic measures. 35 percent said they'd had sex with more than five partners the month prior to the sampling; 69 percent said, "It's hard to change my behavior because being gay means doing what I want sexually." ...... "Gays put pressure on the Board Of Health to forbid the (blood screening) test," said Dr. Helen Singer Kaplan, head of the Human Sexuality Program at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. "We could stop AIDS today if these stupid Typhoid Marys would stop spreading the disease. As a physician I'm appalled at their wildly having sex and spreading AIDS." ....."

Worldnet Daily 8/28/99 S L Goldman ".....The media has also played a large part in blunting the realities of the homosexual lifestyle. Programs such The AIDS Show -- aired on the liberal and homosexual backed KCET -- which plugged itself as a "frank representation" of the AIDS crisis never once dealt directly with any of the specifics of the disease. The show, which included maudlin skits about dying lovers as well as song and dance routines about AIDS -- played up the role of the homosexual-as-victim, while the issue of responsibility was totally avoided......Said TV producer James Comack, "Do you know the most powerful lobby in the entertainment business? Bigger than blacks or women's lib or any nationalist or racial group? It's the gays. If you don't have the approval of the Gay Media Task Force, you don't go on the air."

Augusta Chronicle 11/3/99 "….Hold on to your pocketbooks, Georgia taxpayers. State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, after losing every court round in his bid to stop Atlanta's government from providing ``domestic partner'' benefits to city employees, is throwing in the towel. We don't blame him. It was a lost cause. What it means, though, is that state and local governments, including Augusta, could come under increasing pressure to offer similar benefit packages to homosexual/lesbian partners. Politically, there's no public demand to make such offers to unnatural couples, but legally the door's wide….."

Atlanta Journal-Constitution 11/11/99 Suzanne Fields "…..We all know about ''Clinton fatigue.'' How about ''sex fatigue''? They're not unrelated. It used to be the intriguers of the ''right-wing conspiracy'' and the Grandma Grundies of the Moral Majority who had dirty minds who plotted to turn back the clock. But a craving for at least a little of the Victorian sensibility is becoming mainstream chic. The New York Observer, known for observing hip trends in the worlds of the trendy hip, ran this headline: ''Enough! The Overexposure of Sex Is Ruining the Mood for Everybody.'' The Culprit? The ''Big He'' himself. Talk about a legacy: ''One doesn't have to look too far in the past to discover who is partly to blame for the sick-of-sex feeling,'' writes Alexandra Jacobs in a front page story in the Observer. ''When America read the details of the Starr report, it was not just the fact that the president was indulging in a 21-year-old intern that sickened, it was the grossness of the sex, the stomach-churning ickiness of the whole affair, that lingered in one's mind. In a certain way, one could say, Bill Clinton ruined sex for America.'' ….."

The Wanderer 11/4/99 Paul Likoudis "….Bill Clinton as the first boomer president brought his sexual politics into the Oval Office and undercut his political leadership with immorality (and immaturity). The consensus of the citizenry was that he should get a pass on his sexual tackiness. The Senate ultimately chose to separate the personal from the political. He remained leader, such as he was, of the free world, but at considerable cost. Clinton's sexual excesses reflected and encouraged cultural excesses. But they also brought a new awareness that there was something better, both personally and publicly, even if it looked a lot like our parents' morality……"

CNSNews.com 11/9/99 Scott Hogenson "..... The September murder of Jesse Dirkhising has created some discussion in a few quarters of America, but the story has, for the most part, been ignored by the media at large. Dirkhising is the 13-year-old Arkansas boy who died after being repeatedly raped. Two men are being held without bond, both charged with capital murder and six counts each of rape. I've heard a few explanations as to why this story has been ignored, but the rationale that appeared on Time magazine's Internet website this week was positively jaw dropping. Time.com's Closer Look essay by Jonathan Gregg tells us that the media has spiked the Jesse Dirkhising story because "a red herring worth addressing at the outset is the failure to distinguish between homosexuality and pedophilia, which creates a false parallel." He goes on to explain that "the reason the Dirkhising story received so little play is because it offered no lessons." ....."

CNSNews.com 11/4/99 Justin Torres "…..A new study from the World Congress of Families, meeting this month in Geneva, finds that across the globe people are concerned about the state of the family and support a traditional understanding of it. The study, conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide polling, found remarkable consistency across the globe in attitudes toward family life. For example, 84 percent of people polled agreed that marriage is defined as "one man and one woman," and 78 percent agreed that families were the "fundamental unit of society." "These findings clearly and emphatically reveal that, despite efforts to undermine the natural family in the United Nations . . . the people of the world [agree] . . . that the natural family is the fundamental social unit," said Allan Carlson, president of the Howard Center for Family, Religion, and Society and general secretary of the World Congress of Families….."

Chattanooga Free Press 11/6/99 "..... Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney apparently singled out Mr. Shepard as a homosexual, lured him from a Laramie bar, robbed him of $20, then tied him to a fence and bashed him on the head with a pistol, leaving him in cold weather to die. It was an atrocious, disgusting, outrageous crime. The perpetrators rightly have been given lifetime prison sentences. But while that horrible case has received much attention, another case has not. Comparatively ignored was the atrocity in Arkansas last September in which Jesse Dirkhising, who was only 13, was seized, blindfolded, taped to a bed, gagged with his own underwear and was sodomized by one homosexual man while another homosexual man watched. The victimized boy choked to death on the gag his tormentors forced into his mouth....."

FOX News 9/6/99 Hannah Wolfson AP "….The Salt Lake City School District did not violate high school students' First Amendment rights by preventing them from forming a homosexual club, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins on Friday ruled that the district's current policy sufficiently safeguards students' rights to free expression. The policy barred a group of East High School students from forming a school-approved club, the judge said, not from expressing their point of view in one of the school's existing clubs..."

New York Times 11/6/99 Frank Rich "….By chance, the verdict in the Matthew Shepard murder trial was announced in Laramie, Wyo., on Wednesday just before my interview with the Rev. Jerry Falwell. He hadn't heard the news, so I told him of Aaron McKinney's conviction and asked his response. Mr. Falwell's reply was instantaneous. After saying that the "horrific crime" deserved "the severest of punishments allowed by law," he volunteered: "I could never accept 'gay panic' or any other excuse as grounds for what he did." ….. Two weekends ago his Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., was the setting for an anti-violence meeting between 200 of his flock and 200 gay civil rights advocates recruited nationwide by Soulforce, an ecumenical group based in Laguna Beach, Calif. The meeting came about thanks to one of those only-in-America stories that make this country eternally unpredictable. The founder of Soulforce, the Rev. Mel White, was the favorite ghostwriter of the religious right -- he wrote Mr. Falwell's autobiography as well as books for Pat Robertson and speeches for Oliver North -- until he declared his previously closeted homosexuality in 1991. Since then, Mr. White has become a campaigner for gay rights and has engaged in loud public battles with his former allies. But Mr. Falwell never entirely tuned his old friend out, and their continued contacts, however acrimonious at times, led to the conference in Lynchburg. To make it happen, the two men agreed to disagree about Mr. Falwell's rock-ribbed conviction that homosexuality is a sin akin to alcoholism or drug addiction that can be reversed with spiritual treatment….."

National Post 11/4/99 "….Young men are killed every day in the U.S., but 21-year-old Matthew Shepard's murder was different. When he was beaten to death last October in Wyoming, it was by two men who didn't like the fact that he was gay. In the year since his death, the big American TV networks have regularly carried stories about Matthew, his murder, and what it says about America. Court TV covered the trial, which yielded its final conviction yesterday. CNN and ABC news have run nearly 200 stories between them about it. President Bill Clinton immediately called for tough new laws against such hate-motivated crimes. A Matthew Shepard Foundation has been set up, and so have more than 14,000 memorial Web sites. Amidst all this national soul-searching, another American youngster has been killed, this time in the president's own state of Arkansas. Police say 13-year-old Jesse Dirkhising was raped and tortured before he was murdered. And, as in Matthew's case, sexual orientation is alleged to be a factor. But no Web sites are dedicated to Jesse; as of last night, neither CNN nor ABC had reported on his murder. When the president's spokesman, Joe Lockhart, was asked about Jesse, he said the president had not heard of him. Strangely, Mr. Lockhart avoided the question and instead derided the Washington newspaper that had published Jesse's story……"

Focus On The Family 11/17/99 John Paulk "…."We can have honest differences, but we can't have honest differences about whether we share a common humanity." Who said those words and what do they mean? With those words to gay activists recently in Beverly Hills, President Bill Clinton set the tone for the fight in Congress over a federal hate-crimes statute. The administration is not only firmly in the pro-gay camp, the president equates the expression of any opposition to homosexuality with racism. Mr. President, that stinks. Yes, homosexuals, like all people are human; some likeable, and others not…… But, homosexuality - the behavior that homosexuals engage in - is, according to the Scriptures, an abomination. It's an evil thing, like treachery, and infidelity, and having sex with your neighbor's 8-year-old. It is fundamentally wrong, Mr. President. ….The problem with your idea is, giving special legal protection to homosexuals as individuals also gives special legal protection to a behavior that millions of Christians, Muslim, Hindu and agnostic people have held to be morally wrong and repugnant for thousands of years. If we do this, we look forward to a politically correct - possibly fascist - future, where no one is allowed to express the idea that "homosexuality - the behavior" - is immoral, because it would offend "homosexuals - the persons." And if that happens, who knows where we'll end up. ….."

WorldNetDaily 11/16/99 Joseph Farah "….Well, folks, I guess I hit a nerve in the establishment press. My coverage of the brutal homosexual rape and murder of 13-year-old Jesse Dirkhising prompted a nearly hysterical and completely vicious and gratuitous personal smear of me by the Washington Post's ombudsman in Sunday 's edition. In a column called "Reporting Two Killings," the Post's E.R. Shipp defends his colleagues' coverage of the Matthew Shepard murder in Wyoming as well as the non-coverage of the slaughter of young Jesse in Arkansas. ……. He continues: "I recount this because some readers, prodded by commentators who are hostile to homosexuals and to what they view as a 'liberal' press, have inquired why the Shepard case garnered so much attention while another case involving homosexuals -- as possible predators rather than as victims -- has been all but ignored. There is an explanation for the absence of coverage of the brutal rape and asphyxiation death of 13-year-old Jesse Dirkhising, but those who are inclined to believe the David Dukes, Joseph Farahs and Tim Grahams of the world -- who have asserted that the story has been suppressed so that homosexuals won't be portrayed negatively -- will not be satisfied." Now, I don't know who Tim Graham is, but I do know who David Duke is. And I don't like the implication that I have anything in common with a Ku Klux Klansman. It seems Shipp and his paper are getting a little testy. Interesting. I hadn't even criticized the Post's coverage of the two cases. I guess someone over there has a guilty conscience……"

Denver Post 11/14/99 Sue O’Brien "…. Although it's asked in the nastiest possible way, this unsigned e-mail raises a good question: Why haven't most major news outlets reported the murder of Jesse Dirkhising in Rogers, Ark.? Police say the 13-year-old was drugged and blindfolded, gagged with underwear, strapped to a mattress and then brutally and repeatedly sodomized by one of his killers while the other watched. Ultimately, the seventh-grader died of suffocation because of the position he was in……Has the appalling crime been underreported, which it has been, because it happened in rural Arkansas to a kid who lived in a trailer home? Or because it is fundamentally the story of a rape gone hideously bad? Perhaps, as talk-radio and e-mail commentary fervently insists, it's because the media refuse to publish anything that will make gay people look bad? Thus, the letters about Jesse Dirkhising aren't really about Jesse. They are about the media, and they're about Matthew Shepard. The perversion inherent in both Jesse's and Matthew's murders becomes even more perverted as a twisted competition between the two victims is created….."

Denver Post 11/14/99 Sue O’Brien "…. If the national AP doesn't recognize a story, odds are pretty good the story won't go anywhere. The wonder is that the Dirkhising story has gone as far as it has, pushed primarily by The Washington Times, Fox News Channel's "O'Reilly Factor," Internet chat rooms and news releases from an outfit called Americans for Truth about Homosexuality. The Associated Press distributed reports on the Dirkhising case only to its state and regional clients for a month after Jesse's death. The story's only appear ance on the national AP wire came Oct. 30 - three weeks after Carpenter and Brown had entered not-guilty pleas to capital-murder charges. The story's brevity (599 words) and soft-focus lead made it clear: The AP was trying to catch up with the Internet furor…… I, for one, wish the Oct. 30 AP story hadn't been crowded out of that day's Post by other stories that were either more immediate or more timely as editors made that day's sort. I'm persuaded, though, that there was no decision not to run it because it made gay people look bad. I'm equally persuaded that, if follow-up stories become available, we will carry them. But unfortunately, Jesse's story itself has become a hate-crime story. But it's the use that the story is being put to that's a hate crime, not the crime itself. It is being used to fan hatred, to excuse discrimination - to say it's OK to target people for abuse because they're gay…."

The Washington Post 11/13/99 E R Shipp "…. By the time Matthew Shepard died on Oct. 12, 1998 -- nearly a week after he was savagely beaten and left "tied to a fence like a dead coyote," as The Post reported on Oct. 10, 1998 -- his story had spread around the world, and he had become a symbol for those who urged Congress to adopt a stronger federal hate crimes law…… More "routine" crimes may be ignored or limited to news briefs culled from wire services. The story of the Sept. 26 death of Jesse Dirkhising in Rogers, Ark., and the arrest of two male suspects, wasn't transmitted on the Associated Press's national news wires until Oct. 29……. Indeed, the AP's deputy managing editor for national news, Mike Silverman, acknowledges that the AP blew it by failing to get the story on the national wires for more than a month. Silverman, who is based in New York, said he did not know about it until the Washington Times called last month for an Oct. 22 story: "Media tune out torture death of Arkansas boy." He then assigned his Little Rock staff to do a story for the national wires because this "wasn't a routinely awful crime; it was out of the ordinary." For a variety of reasons, some people insist upon depicting the Shepard and Dirkhising slayings as equivalent. Here at The Post, however, the two are seen as quite different……"

WORLD Magazine 11/20/1999 Candi Cushman "….The story began when Jesse accepted a weekend job from 38-year-old Davis Carpenter, an openly gay hair stylist at Regis Hair Salon who had just settled in Rogers after moving 26 times throughout the country. Jesse, who lived in a small trailer with two siblings, his mother, and her third husband, leapt at the chance to earn a few extra dollars and escape for 30-mile weekend trips to Rogers. While in Rogers, he lodged in an apartment shared by Mr. Carpenter and his 22-year-old homosexual lover, Joshua Brown. Jesse's mother, Tina Yates, said she had known Mr. Carpenter for seven years and had no qualms about letting Jesse stay with the homosexual couple. "I have a lot of gay friends," she said. "I never ever thought he [Carpenter] would hurt one of our own children." …… "

WORLD Magazine 11/20/1999 Candi Cushman "….Police responding to a pre-dawn 911 call on Sunday, Sept. 26, discovered a much more harrowing situation. As a frantic Davis Carpenter led them to Jesse's limp, naked body, police noticed drug paraphernalia and duct tape lying nearby. Hours later, Joshua Brown confessed that he sneaked behind Jesse, bound and gagged the boy, and then sodomized him repeatedly as Mr. Carpenter watched and gave instructions. After taking a break to eat a sandwich at about 5 a.m., Mr. Brown discovered Jesse had stopped breathing. The boy died at the hospital. Police found chilling notes and diagrams illustrating the rape, allegedly written from Mr. Carpenter to Mr. Brown. According to police reports, the notes referred to making "him" take "those pills" and telling "him" not to resist or he would continue to be sexually assaulted. "Even the police officers who have investigated homicide, shootings, and rape in the past were taken aback by what they saw," said Rogers Police Chief Tim Keck, calling the case one of "the most brutal" he has seen…….

WORLD Magazine 11/20/1999 Candi Cushman "….Despite local outrage, the national press was not so taken aback. For weeks, reporters ignored the Durkhising murder, prompting charges of bias. For at the same time that newspapers did not cover Jesse's case, they continued their year-long blitz on the Matthew Shepard case-a media fest that began last October when two heterosexual men beat to death the 21-year-old homosexual college student. ….. Following Mr. Shepard's murder, the Associated Press (AP) ran national news stories every day for a week with the words "openly gay student" prominently displayed in headlines. But Jesse's murder did not make the AP national wire, with the exception of one story appearing almost a month after the crime. "If this were an openly gay boy assaulted to death by two heterosexual men, I don't think there would be any doubt this would be a national news story," said Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the Virginia-based Media Research Center (MRC). MRC research revealed that most major newspapers, national television networks, and newsmagazines shunned the Dirkhising murder. Why the neglect? "This story has the potential to short-circuit the current appeal of gay politics-which is to focus on gays as victims of violence, not as perpetrators," Mr. Graham explained. ….."

WORLD Magazine 11/20/1999 Candi Cushman "….Homosexual advocacy groups like the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) remained silent about the Dirkhising killing. "It's a horrible, brutal crime and we feel for the family and everyone else affected, but we're not sure it would be our place to comment," HRC spokesman Wayne Besen told WORLD. "Their sexual orientation was irrelevant to that fact. It was two guys who did a horrible thing." But earlier this year, HRC was unwilling to attribute Mr. Shepard's murder simply to two guys doing a horrible thing. HRC spokeswoman Kim Hill blamed Mr. Shepard's murder on "a climate of intolerance ... fostered by religious political organizations such as the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, and the Christian Coalition." The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation joined HRC in attacking Christians, calling a "Truth in Love" advertising campaign featuring testimonies from former homosexuals "meanspirited" and "deceptive." The Matthew Shepard case was an opportunity to be exploited; the Jesse Dirkhising case is a danger to be downplayed….."

The Times of London 11/11/99 Alexandra Frean "….. A LONDON Health Authority has been condemned for spending thousands of pounds on an Internet site that advises homosexual men on having sex in parks and public lavatories. The Internet guide to "cruising and cottaging", funded by the Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Health Authority, contains sexually explicit information and images, as well as details about the etiquette of cruising and what to do if caught...."

WorldNetDaily.com 11/17/99 Joseph Farah "…E.R. Shipp, where are you? Well, no word yet from the Washington Post's E.R. Shipp, who defamed me in a column last Sunday. Maybe it's because I offended her by assuming E.R. Shipp is a man in my column yesterday. So sorry, E.R. But given that the politically correct Washington Post refers to you as the "ombudsMAN," I thought for sure you were of the male sexual orientation. I hope this oversight doesn't come between a face-to-face debate over the journalistic standards and practices of the Big Media. I'm sure, given your lofty title and position at the Washington Post, you would have no problem commanding radio and television appearances for this important public policy dialogue between you and me. I would also like to use this opportunity to solicit a public apology from you for linking me -- someone you obviously know nothing about -- to Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. If such a public retraction is not forthcoming on a goodwill basis, I can assure you that you and your newspaper will be hearing from my attorney shortly….."

WorldNetDaily.com 11/17/99 Joseph Farah "…In the Post's eyes, homosexuals are always victims or heroes. There is no other way to portray them without being "insensitive" and homophobic. But what does such a standard have to do with reporting truth? There's a huge push within the establishment press today for "diversity." Only if your editorial staff contains an appropriate number of blacks, homosexuals, women, etc., can your news organization properly cover the world, imply advocates of such standards. But such a standard pre-supposes that blacks, homosexuals and women all think alike -- or at least differently than white men. Nonsense. The only kind of diversity that is meaningful to balanced and thoughtful news coverage is diversity of philosophy, diversity of opinion, diversity in thought. That kind of diversity is obviously not present in the news department of the Washington Post. And, it seems, E.R. Shipp and company are hypersensitive and more than a little defensive about that shortcoming….."

Associated Press 11/17/99 "….A state policy of automatically opposing adoptions of foster children by gay and other unmarried couples was quietly dropped this week by the Davis administration. The move rescinded a 1995 order by then-Republican Gov. Pete Wilson. Gay activists applaud the change as a victory for families. Conservative religious leaders condemn it as ``a disaster for children.'' Even with the earlier policy, however, judges could overrule the state opposition if the would-be parents hired an attorney and appealed. …."

WorldNetDaily 11/17/99 Jon Dougherty "…..When it comes to news reporting, the readers of WorldNetDaily have "a friend in the business." That buddy is none other than our editor, Joseph Farah. Regarding his column on Tuesday, when Joe detailed the blatant hypocrisy of the establishment paper, the Washington Post, in covering the brutal, homosexual-induced murder of 13-year-old Jesse Dirkhising, readers of both WND and the Post should have been able to tell -- once and for all -- who is more concerned with an honest and fair portrayal of the events that take place in our country and the world. Which is to say, it sure isn't the Post. That E.R. Shipp, the paper's ombudsman and a person who is supposed to guide the ethics and professionalism of other staff writers, would even attempt to justify the paper's refusal to acknowledge the similarities in the cases of an openly gay Wyoming college student, Matthew Shepard, and Dirkhising -- killed by two openly gay men who repeatedly raped him to death -- is worse than abominable. In a journalistic sense anyway, it is a crime -- a crime committed against the Post's readers. Shipp ought to be ashamed, her pathetic excuses to virtually ignore the Dirkhising case notwithstanding. And that's just what they are -- excuses. ….."

worldnetdaily.com 11/22/99 J Farah "…. Washington Post ombudswoman E. R. Shipp suggests I am "hostile to homosexuals." In the popular lexicon, that makes one a "homophobe." I'd like to explain why I am not a "homophobe." First of all, the Latin root "homo" simply means "man." "Phobe," or "phobia," has to do with fear. I certainly do not fear men. I also do not fear homosexuals -- though, as much as possible, I do avoid them, as Christians and Jews are cautioned to do in Leviticus 18. Why are we cautioned to avoid homosexuals in the Bible? Here's what it says in the relevant verses of Leviticus 18 (KJV):

22. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

23. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

24. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:

25. And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.

26. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:

27. (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)

28. That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.

29. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.

30. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

You see, God, speaking through Moses, tells us that practices including homosexuality will cause those involved and those around them to be spewed out of the land -- to be rejected, outcast, vomited from the land. I don't want to be too close when that happens. In other words, it's not homosexuals I fear. It is God…."

WorldNetDaily 11/22/99 Frank York "…. A growing political rebellion against "hate crimes" legislation contends such bills are not so much intended to discourage criminal acts as they are to suppress and criminalize people's thoughts, beliefs and speech regarding homosexuality. Proponents of the "Hate Crimes Prevention Act" were stunned and dismayed last Wednesday by the defeat of the legislation in the U.S. Senate. Had it been approved, the bill would have extended current federal "hate crimes" legislation to include sexual orientation. Homosexual activists are condemning the Senate's Republican leadership and pledging an even stronger push for passage when Congress reconvenes. "The GOP Senate leadership's antipathy towards gay and lesbian Americans apparently runs so deep that they were able to callously turn their back on hate crime victims and their families, even as statistics show that hate crimes are on the rise," said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based homosexual advocacy organization……"

BBC Entertainment 12/2/99 "….Gay rights organisation Stonewall has apologised to the Scout Association after Sir Elton John took part in a dance routine by male strippers dressed as cub scouts. The act, which saw Sir Elton singing on stage alongside the six dancers, took place at London's Royal Albert Hall on Sunday as part of a concert to celebrate Stonewall's 10th anniversary. But the Scout Association said that the performance had done themselves and gay rights cause "no favours" by making a link between homosexuality and paedophilia. Stonewall communications director Mark Watson said the group regretted causing any offence...."

Education Week On the Web 12/1/99 Kathleen Kennedy Manzo "….A coalition of education and mental-health organizations is mailing out a new booklet that it says will help teachers and administrators create a safer school environment for gay and lesbian students. The booklet takes direct aim at therapy- and religion-based programs that seek to change individuals' homosexual orientation. The 12-page booklet, "Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators, and School Personnel," was mailed last week to superintendents in the nation's nearly 15,000 public school districts. It outlines the "factual and scientific information" on homosexuality endorsed by major health organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association, and urges school administrators to deal openly with issues of homosexuality. …."

Washington Post 12/4/99 Tim Graham "….I applaud E. R. Shipp for piercing the media silence around the death of 13-year-old Jesse Dirkhising at the hands of two gay men [ombudsman, Nov. 14]. But I did not appreciate being lumped in a clause with David Duke without any context except we're both "hostile to homosexuals." Shipp's blanket description of my shared "hostility" with Duke underlines what's wrong with newsroom thinking about covering homosexuals. Is it considered "hostile" to straight people to cover them when they are perpetrators of crimes as well as when they are victims? David Smith of the Human Rights Campaign proclaimed: "This has nothing to do with gay people." By that standard, Matthew Shepard's death had nothing to do with straight people. Activist groups such as the Human Rights Campaign have used Shepard not simply as a "symbol" but as a spiked club. They claimed Shepard was killed not by his assailants but by a "climate" fostered by newspaper ads telling gay people they could repent their sins and come to Christ. ……."

Reuters/abcnews.go.com 11/24/99 "….Anti-gay groups want to make the Arkansas case of two homosexual men charged with raping and murdering a 13-year-old boy a rallying point, the head of one the groups says. Angered at what they consider excessive media coverage of the trials of the two Wyoming men convicted of killing gay student Matthew Shepard, conservative campaigners are demanding the same level of national media attention for the gruesome death in September of Jesse Dirkhising. …… "The national media, following the lead of homosexual activists, made Matthew Shepard a household name for most Americans," said LaBarbera, head of a Washington, D.C., group called Americans for Truth about Homosexuality and a writer for the Family Research Council, also based in Washington. "When a homosexual is a victim, they've made that a major crime that everybody has to be educated on," LaBarbera told Reuters Tuesday. "What about when homosexuals are perpetrators?" "Either it's because there are a lot of gay reporters, or they are sympathetic to gay causes, but they paid tribute to all that the homosexual activists did," LaBarbera said of coverage of the trials of Shepard's killers, Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney……."

Office of the Chief Counsel of the ACLJ 11/23/99 Jay Sekulow Esq "….Homosexual activists are on the verge of destroying the Boy Scouts of America -- and your church could be their next target! Homosexuals have defeated the Scouts in New Jersey's Supreme Court gaining a unanimous ruling that forces the Scouts to place homosexuals in leadership positions. But the ramifications go way beyond that state: **Every Scout Troop across America was immediately impacted (there are more than 100,000 troops nationwide)... **Tens of thousands of churches that sponsor Scout troops were suddenly confronted with the chilling prospect of court-mandated homosexual leaders in their churches... **And every religious school leader should have recognized that they will now likely become a target of homosexual activists! This is an extremely intense battle. I can tell you from my conversations with high-ranking scout leaders that the scouts are facing unbelievable pressure to cave in to the homosexuals……"

AP 11/23/99 "….The district attorney said Tuesday he will seek the death penalty for two brothers accused of murdering a gay couple. District Attorney McGregor Scott cited the "significant amount of planning that went into these murders.'' No trial date has been set for the defendants, Benjamin Matthew Williams, 31, and James Tyler Williams, 29. They are accused of robbing and shooting to death Gary Matson, 50, and Winfield Mowder, 40, on July 1 at the couple's Happy Valley home. ….."

NY TIMES 11/23/99 Erica Goode "…. In a move likely to fuel debate over how secondary schools should handle the issue of homosexuality, a coalition of medical, mental health, educational and religious organizations announced Monday that it would send the nation's school superintendents a booklet informing them that there is "no support among health and mental health professional organizations" for the idea that homosexuality is abnormal or mentally unhealthy. The Just the Facts Coalition, representing the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Education Association, the American Psychological Association and seven other groups, said the 12-page booklet would be mailed today to the heads of all 14,700 public school districts in the United States. The coalition said the booklet "provides information that will help school administrators and educators to create safe and healthy environments in which all students can achieve to the best of their ability." ……"

The Sun-UK 11/30/99 Nicole Lampert "…. GAY superstar Sir Elton John was blasted last night over a raunchy dance routine with male strippers dressed as CUB SCOUTS. Outrageous Sir Elton, 52, sang and shared a stage with six teenage hunks as they peeled off woggles and uniforms to reveal tight undies. The singer had held hands with each dancer as he introduced them at a bash for homosexual rights group Stonewall. Then the six, sporting shorts and caps like those worn by cub scouts as young as eight, stripped to the tune of It's A Sin by gay icons the Pet Shop Boys……"

N.Y. Post 11/26/99 "….. A well-placed story this week in the Washington Post painted Starr-successor Robert Ray as a social troglodyte of the first order. The evidence? In 1993 and again in 1996, Ray ran for the board of Community School District 13, in Brooklyn's Park Slope, as a member of the Children's Slate -- whose principal plank was opposition to the infamous Rainbow Curriculum. Remember "Heather Has Two Mommies?" "Daddy's Roommate?" Condom instruction for third-graders -- and teaching approvingly about homosexuality as a matter of "tolerance" in the first grade? That was the Rainbow Curriculum. While the Washington Post characterized that preposterous gaggle of radical edu-junk as "a multicultural approach to teaching children about alternative lifestyles," it was -- in point of fact -- about much more than that. It was an outrageously age-inappropriate effort at social indoctrination, undertaken by then-Schools Chancellor Joseph Fernandez and a coalition of activists -- who, in the end, almost won. But they didn't, and soon Fernandez was sent packing……"

Enter Stage Right 11/22/99 C Dodd Harris IV "….Federal law already expands Federal jurisdiction to State crimes based on "race, color, religion or national origin" [18 USC 245(2)]. In the wake of the brutal beating death in October, 1998 of Matthew Shephard, gay activists and others renewed their calls to extend title 18 to include sex and sexual orientation….. Opponents of "hate crimes" legislation have long argued that these laws are severely flawed. First, they have an eerie resemblance to thought crimes. By adding extra penalties for motivation, we move very close to criminalizing the content of a person's head. Second, by adding penalties for a violent crime that applies only when the victim is a member of a specified minority, we create an impression that some people's lives are more valuable than others'... Third, prosecutions for "hate crimes" are inherently arbitrary….. Lastly, the Federalization of crimes is at odds with the principles of federalism and Constitutional government. Prosecution of crimes within its territory is the prerogative of the State and Federal criminal jurisdiction is supposed to be sharply circumscribed. Giving extra Federal jurisdiction to crimes traditionally left to the States undercuts the foundation of our federal system. Further, a defendant's right not to be subjected to 'double jeopardy' is endangered, as it was in the Rodney King case, by a possibility of a second - Federal - trial even if acquitted at the state level…."

London times 11/21/99 Michael Horsnell "…. A HOMOSEXUAL village shopkeeper murdered a 12-year-old boy because he feared a sexual relationship that had developed between them would be exposed, a jury was told yesterday. Kevan Roberts, 52, allegedly strangled Thomas Marshall with a bootlace-style necklace that the boy was wearing and with the collar of his T-shirt. He then disposed of the boy's mountain bike in undergrowth before driving 50 miles to a lay-by notorious as a homosexual pick-up point, where he dumped the body. It was not until a year later that detectives found a bead from the necklace lodged in the sink-trap of Mr Roberts's kitchen, for which he could offer no explanation. The Crown told the court it had fallen into the sink while Thomas was being asphyxiated……"

flash.oregon.com, via AP, via WND 11/19/99 "….Six high school teachers have accused the Portland School District of promoting homosexuality with a list of reading material for students and teachers aimed at better understanding gays and lesbians. "We are concerned that an entirely one-sided perspective on the issue of homosexuality is being disseminated to students by the school district through its sexual diversity committee," the teachers wrote in a Nov. 16 memo to Cleveland High School Principal Bruce Plato. "Its effort has been solely to condone, affirm and encourage homosexual practices among students and adults," the memo said. …."

Washington Post 11/22/99 David Vise "…. Jill Harris recalls being "shocked" when she learned last month that Robert W. Ray had been named to replace Kenneth W. Starr as independent counsel…. Harris, a lawyer who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.…. she and a number of other residents in Brooklyn's Park Slope and Windsor Terrace neighborhoods remember Ray in another role--as an unsuccessful school board candidate who vehemently opposed an elementary school curriculum designed to teach children about families with two moms or two dads, an approach he characterized as an "assault on the moral authority of parents." ….."

St. Louis Post 12/13/99 Bill Smith "…. The owner of a St. Louis cab company said Friday he does not know what action, if any, he can take against a driver who refused to take a passenger to a gay bar. "I'm sorry this whole thing happened," said Jack Seibert, president and owner of Yellow Cab Co. "I deeply regret it. "Our drivers deal with all kinds of people on this earth and they have to take people where they want to go, they have to be as careful as possible and then they have to go on to the next fare." ….."

AP 12/10/99 Jean Christensen "….The Hawaii Supreme Court has effectively ended the drive to legalize gay marriage in a state once considered one of the most likely to accept same-sex unions. In a ruling Thursday, the court said the effort by homosexual couples was rendered moot by a 1998 amendment to the state constitution overwhelmingly approved by voters. The amendment gave lawmakers the authority to limit state-recognized marriages to opposite-sex couples. ``Thank you to the Hawaii Supreme Court for affirming what we've known all along -- that marriage, by God's definition, is between opposite-sex couples,'' said Mike Gabbard, chairman of the Alliance for Traditional Marriage. ….."

ajc.com 12/9/99 James Pritchard ".....An Army private was found guilty of premeditated murder Wednesday for bludgeoning to death a fellow soldier in a beating prosecutors said was motivated by his hatred of homosexuals. Pvt. Calvin N. Glover was convicted of using a baseball bat to crush Pfc. Barry Winchell's skull July 5 as he slept on a cot at their Fort Campbell barracks. Defense attorneys argued that another soldier, Spc. Justin R. Fisher, 25, who was charged as an accessory, goaded Glover into the attack. ..."

FRC Media Office 6/9/99 ".....Backing away from a controversial article that had said child molestation with "willing" children may not be harmful, and may, in some cases, even be beneficial, the American Psychological Association unveiled Wednesday a resolution condemning all "sexual relations between children and adults." "After much pressure, the APA has begun to undo the damage wrought by its publication of a badly conceived article that has been hailed by such groups as the North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA)," said FRC?s Chief Spokesperson Janet Parshall. "It?s a good first step, but now the APA needs to root out the pro-pedophilic academicians who are trying to normalize child abuse. And the APA should write to NAMBLA and strongly urge them not to use this article as justification for molesting young boys." In a June 9 letter to Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex), APA Chief Executive Officer Raymond D. Fowler pledges to create legal briefs attacking misuse of the article in the courts, and he includes a board-approved resolution in which the APA "repudiates and disassociates itself from any organization or publication that advocates sexual interaction between children and adults." ....."

CNSNews.com 12/8/99 Susan Jones "....The vote was 7-0 Tuesday against a student's proposal to create a gay tolerance club at his Orange County, California high school. 15-year-old Anthony Colin announced his intention to form a Gay-Straight Alliance Club at El Modena High School back in September. He sued the Orange Unified School District last month, claiming it violated the federal Equal Access Act, which requires schools to give equal treatment to non-curricular groups, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. But at Tuesday's meeting, the school board said education is a curriculum issue that has nothing to do with equal-access law......"

Boston Globe 12/9/99 Jeff Jacoby "…..Provoked by Bozell's challenge and by messages from readers wanting to know why the Dirkhising murder was being ignored, writers at The Washington Post and the Time magazine Web site offered a defense. ''While Shepard's murderers were driven to kill by hate, the boy's rape and death was a sex crime,'' argued Jonathan Gregg, the senior editor at Time.com. Shepard's killers ''were not satisfying some animalistic sexual impulse; they were bullies who gratuitously killed someone out of hate for being different than they were.'' The Post's ombudsman, E.R. Shipp, made the same claim. She acknowledged that her paper had run some 80 items referring to Shepard, but only a single news brief mentioning Dirkhising. ''Here at the Post, however, the two are seen as quite different,'' Shipp wrote. A hate crime homicide such as Shepard's ... is `a special kind of killing,' the Post has editorialized.... Arkansas authorities have not characterized the Dirkhising death as a hate crime.''

Boston Globe 12/9/99 Jeff Jacoby "…..Could anything make clearer the perniciousness of treating some kinds of violence as ''hate crimes?'' Here lies Matthew Shepard, beaten to death by a pair of savages. Here lies Jesse Dirkhising, tortured to death by a different pair of savages. Each was an innocent. Each died in agony. Each left behind grieving family and friends. Each was the victim of a crime so vicious as to shock the conscience. But because Shepard's savages detested homosexuals, his death matters. Because Dirkhising's savages were driven by lust, his death is a nullity….."

AP 1/6/00 "….Authorities are searching for a city councilman and former sex abuse investigator who has been charged with numerous counts of child molestation. Kevin Carney, a city councilman from Palmdale and a former sheriff's sergeant, had not been located as of early today. An arrest warrant for Carney was issued Wednesday after he was charged with 17 felony counts of child molestation and one misdemeanor charge of possessing child pornography. Voters in Palmdale, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles, elected Carney to a council seat in November shortly after he was arrested for investigation of lewd conduct with a 14-year-old girl. He was freed on bail and denied the charges, calling them part of a dirty smear campaign from his opponents….."

Manchester Union-Leader 1/6/00 Bernadette Malone Connolly "….Done right, Catholicism treats gays ethically, fairly and compassionately. So the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland had no need Tuesday to overcompensate for the fact that the Vatican objects to the act of homosexuality by endorsing a gay amendment to Maine's Human Rights Act. The amendment in question bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation - a praiseworthy goal. But it strips private individuals of the right to decide not to do business with persons prominently engaged in activities many folks - including some Catholics - believe to be immoral….."

The New York Times 12/17/99 Marc Lacey "….Addressing a sympathetic audience of gay and lesbian backers of the Democratic Party, President Clinton said today that the way the military was implementing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward homosexuals in uniform could turn soldier against soldier and that he intended to push for changes in how the services put the policy into effect. "He told us what he's been telling us privately for two years -- that he doesn't like the policy but that it was the best he could get politically," said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay political group. "The president called it institutionalized hypocrisy and said it creates an atmosphere of secrecy that turns soldier upon soldier." ……"

Firehat 1/1/00 Norman Liebmann "….Now that the liberal establishment has filleted some of the girders out of the national superstructure, one area has collapsed into a gelatinous mass of hormonal confusion and an agony of indecision about whether to leave the toilet seat in an up or down position. That area is called Vermont, and it is currently in a spasm of sexual upheaval, having abandoned democracy and undertaken to reorganize itself into a homo-ocracy. … Same sex marriage is an attack on Christian civilization, and it is no wonder Bill Clinton should lead that attack - inasmuch as no one ever accused him of being either Christian or civilized. Secularists rationalize the Clinton Administration is only Nature's Way of spreading AIDS politically and bringing to America the blessings of Woodstock and Gomorrah……. Vermont has sanctioned an arrangement called a domestic partnership, an ersatz homosexual Nutrasweet marital arrangement. Though legalized by the state, this sacrilege is embroidered with hypocrisy. It is frowned upon to marry out your faith, but not out of your gender; against the law to marry your sister but okay to marry your brother; and okay for a man to date your son - as long as his intentions are "honorable." ……"

Portland Press Herald 1/5/00 Paul Carrier "….The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland on Tuesday threw its support behind a revised gay-rights bill that the Legislature will consider this year. The gesture gives backers a significant political boost because the Catholic Church sat out the last gay-rights fight in 1998...."

AP 1/5/00 "….Religious leaders from more than 70 California churches are asking The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to reconsider its support for an anti-gay marriage initiative. Proposition 22, titled the "Limit on Marriage" act, won't solve problems facing families, said the church leaders, who planned to release a copy of their letter to the LDS church today. The initiative, sponsored by state Sen. Pete Knight, R-Palmdale, would bar California from recognizing marriages of same-sex couples. Voters will consider it March 7. Religious leaders who oppose the ban, which include Catholics, Unitarians, Jews, Episcopalians and Methodists, want to hold a round-table discussion with LDS church officials to discuss their support for it. "If they are really concerned about supporting marriage and families, there are many other things that are a threat to marriage and families," said the Rev. Ed Hansen, pastor of the Hollywood United Methodist Church……The measure also has received support from most of the California dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and the California Southern Baptist Convention. Robert Glazier, spokesman for the "Protection of Marriage" campaign, said he had not seen the letter, but doubted it would lessen Mormon support for Proposition 22….."

New York Daily News 1/7/00 Timothy Burger "……Key veterans' groups came out yesterday against a proposal by the two Democratic presidential contenders that Pentagon brass who would serve under them would have to endorse military service by openly gay soldiers. "We would obviously be opposed in a big way to any litmus test," said Steve Van Buskirk, spokesman for the 1.9 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars. "If you're going to have any test at all, it's going to be to their ability to lead and to be a straight shooter on matters affecting readiness," said Steve Thomas of the American Legion, which is 2.8 million strong. …."

New York Times 1/7/00 Steven Lee Myers "….When Clinton administration officials interviewed Gen. Charles C. Krulak for the job of commandant of the Marine Corps in 1995, he recalled today, no one asked for his views on any social issue facing the military. And there were certainly many brewing at the time, including women in combat and the integration of the sexes in boot camp. And so General Krulak said he was dismayed with the way the two Democratic candidates for president, Vice President Al Gore and former Senator Bill Bradley, had so strongly endorsed allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military. Mr. Bradley said he would expect his appointees to the Joint Chiefs of Staff to carry out his policy. Mr. Gore went further to say it would be a "litmus test" for any appointee he selected. Presidents, General Krulak said, have historically selected nominees based on their experience and military expertise, not on their views on political issues -- particularly divisive social ones. To do otherwise, he said, "is in my opinion wrong." "It has nothing to do with the rightness or wrongness of gays in the military," said General Krulak, an opponent of allowing homosexuals to serve openly who retired as commandant last year. "It has everything to do with how a commander in chief goes about getting the best officers in the land." …."

Reuters 1/6/00 Deborah Charles "….President Clinton said on Thursday the next president will need Congress's consent to let homosexuals serve openly in the military, despite vows to overturn current policy by the Democrats seeking his job. ``I believe that the next president, if he wants to change the policy, will have to get the Congress to change the law,'' Clinton told reporters. Clinton spoke outside his new house in the New York City suburbs after he and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton spent their first night there. During a Democratic presidential campaign debate on Wednesday night in New Hampshire, Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites) and former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley (news - web sites) both said they would seek to overturn the present ``don't-ask-don't-tell'' policy. Critics say the policy has led to an unintended increase in expulsions of gay and lesbian soldiers. Clinton in December acknowledged that the policy was not working as intended, after Mrs. Clinton, who is running for U.S. Senate seat from New York, called for its elimination….."

NYTimes 1/6/00 RL Berke "…. Vice President Al Gore and his Democratic opponent, Bill Bradley, said tonight that if they were elected president they would require their appointees to the Joint Chiefs of Staff to fully support allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military. Although both candidates had previously opposed the Clinton administration's "don't ask, don't tell" policy their comments in the fourth Democratic debate of the primary season, here at the University of New Hampshire, were a strikingly forceful embrace of gay rights and were bound to come under attack by the Republican candidates……. Of the two, Mr. Gore was the more expansive, saying he wanted to make the same sweeping changes toward allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military that President Harry S. Truman made toward racially integrating the armed forces….."

New York Times 1/9/00 "….Officials, health workers and nightclub owners have been arguing for months over developing a municipal policy to get the denizens of the freewheeling night life mecca here to obtain and use condoms. On Monday, the West Hollywood City Council approved a plan to give 320,000 free condoms this year to 33 gay bars, which would voluntarily supply the condoms to their clientele by placing condoms in jars. But, feeling the step insufficient, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which treats 5,000 patients throughout the Los Angeles area, has proposed a competing initiative that would ask West Hollywood voters to make the program apply to all bars in the city -- not just those with a predominantly gay clientele -- and would require participation, rather than allowing the program to be voluntary….."

NEWSMAX 1/8/00 Michael Savage "….Here is a prime example of stupidity that has become criminal. In the midst of the present critical blood shortage the moronic San Francisco Supervisor Mark Leno is protesting the Blood Centers of the Pacific's practice of turning away gay men who want to donate blood. Now you know that gay men have been asked not to donate blood since 1977 for very good reasons. But since Mark "Gayblood" Leno doesn't understand that there's a point where politics must be put aside, he continues to push the gay agenda even when it endangers public health. As far as I'm concerned, this man ought to be arrested as a threat to public health. This is unbelievable. Leno, to appeal to his gay voters, is trying to have the FDA revise its policy issued in the 1980s that tells men who have had sex with other men not to donate blood…... You have a high risk of getting AIDS, of contracting the HIV virus or other "silent" blood-bone diseases.. That's why gays have been told not to donate blood. Leno, of course, argues "one way to solve (the blood shortage) is to encourage HIV-negative gay men who are sexually safe to donate." …."

St. Louis Post Dispatch 1/8/00 Harry Levins "….The consensus holds that "don't ask, don't tell" is fatally flawed - that patriotic homosexuals should be allowed to serve without hiding their orientation. It's a matter of fairness, we're told. What's open to question is whether fairness is the issue here. Consider that nobody has a right to serve in the armed forces. The armed forces discriminate regularly. They'll turn you away if you're too old, too young, too fat, too dumb. You're a felon who paid your debt to society? Sorry. You're a kid with a bum eye who's yearning to follow your father into the Marine Corps? Sorry. The courts have consistently deferred to the armed forces as the best judges of how to defend society. After all, at bottom, the armed forces are about life and death. Alone in our society, they have a warrant to kill people and break things. Given those grim realities, the courts have left decisions on eligibility to the armed forces - and to Congress, which sets the rules and regulations for people in uniform. In 1993, when Congress OK'd "don't ask, don't tell," it did so through a law that states flatly, "Homosexuality is incompatible with military service." …"

St. Louis Post Dispatch 1/8/00 Harry Levins "….Why do the armed forces feel that way? Two reasons, mainly. Military people call the first "small-unit cohesion." You and I call it "male bonding," of the nonsexual sort. To prevail in combat, soldiers must have trust and faith in one another. Sexual tension corrodes faith and trust, which is a big reason why women have been barred from infantry squads and tank crews - so far, anyway. The second reason is a simple respect for what little privacy soldiers enjoy. Soldiers do more than work together. They eat, sleep, shower and shave together. I sampled this togetherness in September in Kosovo, where I lived in a tent with a dozen Navy Seabees. We showered in a group in a big tent with no partitions. That shower tent drove home "don't ask, don't tell" to me…… But I suspect that few of the people writing the op-ed pieces or appearing on the cable TV talk shows have had that shower-tent experience, or any experience with the armed forces….."

WORLD Magazine 1/22/2000 Candi Cushman "….."She" is 41-year-old June Evans, a 5'3" African-American woman with a pixie-like grin and deep, boisterous voice. A full-time lecturer for Aim for Success, one of the nation's largest abstinence programs, Mrs. Evans will speak more than 20 times this week in four different schools, encouraging teenagers to remain abstinent until marriage. Today's [Duncanville Texas] audience is typical-an ethnic mix from a lower middle-class neighborhood 15 miles southwest of Dallas. "All I'm out here to do today is to give you the truth," begins Mrs. Evans. "Is everyone comfortable with that? I am because I talk about sex all day every day." The room is suddenly silent as 50 students, ages 14 to 16, perch on the edges of their seats….. But not everybody is celebrating. ABC News this December accused schools of "shortchanging students" with abstinence-only programs. "Our children are being denied life-saving information that their parents want for them," Sexuality Information and Education Council (SIECUS) president Debra Haffner told ABC. Time magazine went further, citing "public health experts'" concerns that abstinence education could "undo a decade of progress in education about safe sex." That depends on the definition of progress. After more than two decades of safe-sex education, STDs have reached epidemic proportions. Thirty years ago doctors recognized only two STDs-syphilis and gonorrhea. Both are curable. Today there are over 25 STDS, generating more than 12 million new cases annually. Half are incurable. Also hidden from the public limelight is the fact that condoms do not protect against one of the most common and incurable STDs-Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). This February, the National Cancer Institute quietly told U.S. House members that "condoms are ineffective against HPV." The Institute also reported that HPV affects 24 million people annually and causes over 99 percent of cervical cancer cases, killing more than 5,000 women every year. Even so, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll showed that less than 1 percent of teenagers and adults know HPV is sexually transmitted…….."

WORLD Magazine 1/22/2000 Candi Cushman "…Despite local success, groups like MCCAP face stiff competition nationally. "There is at least $500 million going to fund contraceptive-based education through hundreds of different government and agency programs," says Mr. Brandt. In response, Oklahoma obstetrician-gynecologist Tom Coburn has taken his battle to the White House. Doubling as Congressman, Dr. Coburn proposed legislation requiring HPV-warning labels on condom packages as well as a registry for physicians to report new HPV cases. Predictably, the safe-sex lobby is vehemently opposed. "This effort is solely designed to advance an abstinence-only approach to sex," said Planned Parenthood's Gloria Felt. "This is part of the whole 'shaming of America' campaign promoted by people who want to impose their own personal religious and moral agenda on all people." ….. More tragic is the opposition of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which stated that it was "alarmed" by Dr. Coburn's public stance in favor of abstinence outside of marriage as the only fool-proof way to avoid HPV. Despite colleagues' attacks, Dr. Coburn refuses to water down his message. "What we are fighting in liberal America today is people who want to say there are no consequences for behavior that's immoral," he told WORLD….."

Associated Press 1/20/2000 "….Attorneys for one of two gay men charged with the rape and murder of a 13-year-old boy want to have tests performed on bodily fluids gathered as evidence. The attorneys for Davis Don Carpenter Jr. also said Wednesday that they want more time to prepare arguments against presenting evidence to a jury. Carpenter, 38, and Joshua Macave Brown, 22, are both charged with capital murder and six counts of rape in Jesse Dirkhising's death Sept. 26….."

AP Wire 1/23/2000 "…A married couple are receiving hormone treatments ahead of a planned sex change surgery that will allow them to switch genders. The man and the woman are now receiving regular hormone treatments to alter the balance of male and female hormones in their bodies, the daily Blikk reported Sunday. The operation is scheduled for August, said a doctor at Saint George's Hospital in Szekesfehervar, 50 miles southwest of Budapest...."

Reuters 1/23/2000 David Luhnow "….The leader of Scotland's Roman Catholics provoked an angry reaction from gay rights groups on Sunday by comparing the threat from the homosexual lobby in Europe to that of the Nazis during World War Two. During a speech in Malta on Saturday, Cardinal Thomas Winning drew parallels between the homosexual lobby's push for greater powers to bombing of the Mediterranean island by Germany and Italy during the war. His comments, published on Sunday in Scotland, looked sure to fuel a controversy over government efforts to lift a ban on promoting the idea in schools that homosexuality is acceptable. ``All over Europe, an active and militant homosexual lobby is pushing for greater power and the threat to the Christian family is very real,'' Winning said. ``Cast your minds back to the dark days of World War Two,'' he added. ``The parallels with today are striking. In place of the bombs of 50 years ago, you find yourselves bombarded with images, values and ideas which are utterly alien.'' …."

World Net Daily 1/21/2000 Julie Foster "…. "Gay political tactics come down to simple intimidation on every level possible, whether it's Act-Up throwing stink bombs at prayer breakfasts or Americans losing their jobs because they happen to object to the lifestyle," says Michael Savage, one of the most popular radio talk show hosts in -- believe it or not -- San Francisco. This week, the popular KSFO media personality has gone national, having been launched on Talk Radio Network, the nation's third largest syndicator of talk radio. Network executives figure that if Savage, with his aggressive criticism of all things leftist, can come out on top in one of the nation's most liberal metropolitan markets, he can't lose anywhere else. "It's a scary thing to watch people being intimidated out of their American birthright -- the right to say what they really think about issues that affect them and their family," said Savage, who appears to be fearless on all topics, even the ones that logically would make him an outcast in San Francisco. Indeed, the long time Bay Area resident characterizes marchers in gay pride parades as the "brown shirts of the modern era." "In Hollywood, they don't call the gay network the "Velvet Mafia" for nothing," he added….."

The Newark Star-Ledger 1/21/2000 Lawrence Hall "…..You've got to watch your mouth these days. The thought police are on the prowl. Police in Laguna Beach, Calif., have begun documenting verbal attacks on the theory that they may lead to hate crimes. Authorities acted after a man visited the police station to complain about an anti-gay slur hurled at him. The police did not take down the report, and the man complained in a letter to a local newspaper. Police reacted by instituting the new procedure. ''It will be what we call an incident report," says a police spokesman. "It goes nowhere but here. In the event that the recipient of that ugly speech becomes a victim . . . that (report) can be pulled from a particular group of reports." Police maintain they are not trying to squelch free speech, but they will maintain a file on all insults involving race, sexual preference or creed….."

Boston Herald 1/21/2000 Doug Hanchett "…. After allegedly raping a choir boy following a 1998 performance of the play ``Black Nativity,'' a veteran cast member told the boy not to tell anyone because ``I can't afford to go to jail,'' the victim testified yesterday. Speaking in hushed tones, the now 14-year-old boy described to a Suffolk Superior Court jury how Joseph Collins, a 49-year-old singer from Dorchester, pulled him into an empty bathroom, molested him and made him perform oral sex...."

Media Research Center 1/20/2000 L Brent Bozell III "…. Last week yielded episodes 5,471 and 5,472 - approximately - of the long-running, appalling, fascinating soap opera "Has Hollywood Lost Its Mind?" The first episode centered on Dr. Laura Schlessinger, whose social conservatism complements Rush Limbaugh's political conservatism for millions of radio listeners. Next fall Schlessinger launches a weekday syndicated television program, "Dr. Laura," which Paramount will distribute. This does not make some liberals very happy. Given that Schlessinger's traditionalist approach to morality in general and homosexuality in particular is highly unpopular in anything-goes Hollywood, it's not surprising that some at Paramount, according to Brian Lowry's column in the January 11 Los Angeles Times, "feel.a bit betrayed" by the company's involvement with "Dr. Laura," nor that "in the wake of such reaction, Paramount officials [will] meet. with representatives of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation," one of the most effective single-issue pressure groups in that industry. How extreme is GLAAD? Last fall, its spokeswoman Cathy Renna denounced journalists' "misguided notions of 'balance'" in their coverage of gay topics. Her organization, she said, would try to "convince them that there is no other side to these issues." GLAAD barely has to lobby Hollywood on this matter, of course, since almost everyone there already believes there's "no other side" regarding homosexuality….."

Boston Herald 1/2/2000 AP "…..A group of 17 Vermont religious leaders, including the state's Episcopal and Methodist bishops, believe marriage is the only way to give same-sex couples all the legal benefits given to traditional married couples. The institution of marriage ``can only be strengthened by extending our understanding of marriage to include the faithful committed relationships of same gender couples,'' the statement says. ….. The statement was released the day after a pastoral letter by Vermont's Roman Catholic bishop, urging Catholics and other people of faith who oppose same-sex marriage and domestic partnership to rally at the State House next week. ……"

CNSNews.com 1/21/2000 Lawrence Morahan "….A statement by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, or SIECUS, that calls on faith communities to bless same-sex marriage and allow homosexual ministers is not representative of mainstream churches and should be rejected, public policy experts told CNSNews.com. "I find this very disturbing, but I don't find it as much of a surprise, Wanda Boyenga, director of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse, told CNSNews.com. "It's no secret that SIECUS has planned for some time to launch a major campaign to establish itself as a source of information regarding human sexuality for the faith-based communities of America," she said. The SIECUS statement calls for, among other things, "Full inclusion of women and sexual minorities in congregational life, including their ordination and the blessing of same sex unions." SIECUS also calls for "Lifelong, age appropriate sexuality education in schools, seminaries, and community settings." According to SIECUS guidelines, children ages 5 to 8 should be taught about masturbation; children ages 9 to 12 should be taught that there are many ways - including mutual masturbation and oral sex - to give and receive sexual pleasure, Boyenga said. SIECUS guidelines further state that children ages 12 to 15 should be told where they can buy contraceptives; and children 16 to 18 can be instructed to use erotic photographs, movies or literature to enhance their sexual fantasies, Boyenga said……"

Reuters 1/21/2000 "….If you are a man who has difficulty controlling your sexual responses in public, beware. The eyes of Mississippi are upon you. The Southern state, long considered one of the most conservative in the United States, is considering a public-sex-and-nudity law with a provision that would make it illegal for sexually aroused men to appear in public ..."

World Net Daily 1/22/2000 Julie Foster "…The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States was formed in 1964 by three professional educators, a lawyer, a physician, and one clergyman with the expressed goal of assuring that all people have "the right to affirm that sexuality is a natural and healthy part of their lives." ….. However, notable members of the coalition include the National Abortion Federation, the professional association of abortion providers; Zero Population Growth, an organization which "recommends that Congress ensure universal accessibility to family planning and abortion services in the United States," and "recommends that states remove the existing legal restrictions on contraceptive availability for teenagers," as well as the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Other members include the National Association of Counties and the U.S. Conference of Mayors……. "

World Net Daily 1/22/2000 Julie Foster "…SEICUS also advocates a "faith-based commitment to sexual and reproductive rights, including access to voluntary contraception, abortion, and HIV/STD prevention and treatment." While SEICUS boasts the morality statement supporting homosexuality "was developed by more than 20 theologians from diverse traditions" and signed by members of 25 denominations, nearly half the signatories are officials and clergy from the United Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association and Judaism's liberal Reform and Reconstructionist branches. Unitarian Universalism calls itself "a liberal religion born of the Jewish and Christian traditions" that believes "personal experience, conscience, and reason should be the final authorities in religion….." ….. "

World Net Daily 1/22/2000 Julie Foster "…Equating efforts that promote the homosexual agenda with worldwide racial civil rights movements and religious persecution, United Church of Christ's former president, Rev. Paul H. Sherry, has written …. "We have had to re-examine long-held assumptions about those few passages of Scripture that appear to speak about homosexuality in the light of transforming interpretations from widely respected Bible scholars and teachers, and we have begun to recognize how our fears of those who are different, and our society's deeply entrenched bias against homosexual persons has often distorted and nearly silenced the Bible's liberating and inclusive voice," said Sherry…."

World Net Daily 1/22/2000 Julie Foster "…The paper received slim backing from Roman Catholics -- two nuns, no priests and a handful of lay activists -- and no major Evangelical, black Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Mormon, Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim organizations supported SEICUS' proclamation. There were, however, a few mainstream denomination members who came on board. Rev. Larry Greenfield, a former seminary president in the American Baptist Churches, said the paper carries this message on sex by unwed teens: "The most effective ethic is one that is not rule-based, but relationship-based.'' But Rev. William Merrell, a spokesman of the conservative Southern Baptist Convention, responded: "This is not new ground for liberal religious leaders. There has been a history of radical departure from the teachings of the Scriptures on these topics. I do not believe that the moral confusion and the moral incoherence that characterizes the time is relieved by such statements. Rather it is made worse,'' Merrell said….."

World Net Daily 1/22/2000 Julie Foster "…Seven seminary professors of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the larger and less conservative branch of the Presbyterianism, also supported the statement……. Pastor Greg Roth of Centerville Presbyterian Church in Fremont, Calif., is a leader in the denomination -- he has been nominated to attend the General Assembly this summer -- and self-proclaimed member of the conservative "resistance force" opposed to the ordination and union of homosexuals. The Bay Area minister explained, "I don't want to say 'you're not a Christian,'" to a homosexual, and he also acknowledges that other denominations have the right to ordain and bless the union of homosexuals. "Just not in my church," he said.. Eligibility for ordination in the Presbyterian Church, explained Roth, is automatic for seminary students. Church laws state that homosexuals may not be ordained, thereby excluding homosexuals from seminary positions since that confers automatic eligibility for ordination. The court ruled that eligibility for ordination is not technically a violation of church law, and so homosexuals should be allowed to attend and hold leadership positions in seminary. In the same way, the court ruled that blessing a homosexual "union" does not violate church law prohibiting same-sex marriages, since a "union" is not technically a "marriage."…."

World Net Daily 1/22/2000 Julie Foster "…"It's a matter of semantics," continued Giles. "We believe [homosexual unions] are not Biblical nor Biblically-based. The huge majority of Presbyterians would be opposed to these as very irregular and certainly not to be equated with Christian marriage." The Alabama-based ministry leader said that approximately 85 percent of Presbyterian members oppose the ordination of homosexuals, though a "very vocal minority" in the leadership of the church pushes for their inclusion….. The Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church also have members who signed the declaration, most of them seminary professors. ….."

Denver Pest 1/19/2000 Virginia Culver "….Almost 900 religious leaders across the country, including 21 from Colorado, have signed a statement calling for ordination of gays and lesbians and the right of ministers to perform same-sex unions. The Coloradans include local ministers; professors at Iliff School of Theology, Colorado College, the University of Colorado and Metropolitan State College of Denver; and clergy from a variety of churches and synagogues. One of the signers is the former Denver area bishop of the United Methodist Church, Roy Sano, who governed Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Utah. The list - which will appear in a full-page ad in The New York Times later this month - includes two presidents of Christian denominations, 15 seminary presidents, teachers at 32 seminaries and 14 bishops from various churches….."

Newsmax.com 1/19/2000 Steve Farrell "…."Privacy," said Justice Black in the 1965 landmark case Griswold v. Connecticut, "is a broad, abstract and ambiguous concept which can easily be shrunken in meaning but which can also, on the other hand, easily be interpreted as a constitutional ban against many things." Building on a sentiment of the Founding Fathers, he insisted that our "First Amendment freedoms, for example, have suffered from a failure of the courts to stick to the simple language of the First Amendment in construing it."…... Eight years after Griswold v. Connecticut, Roe v. Wade revealed that privacy was dangerous indeed, when this new found right translated into the right for a mother to slay her child, to usurp his or her right to life, to receive tax money to pay for abortion, to terminate the free speech and right to assembly of those who protest abortion and to set a legal precedent via RICO to infringe upon the religious liberty of hundreds of millions of Americans, supposedly because doctrinal opposition to killing millions of babies, "caused" the murder of a few abortionists….. Is gay advocacy guilty of this, or is it solely a campaign, as they often claim, to keep Big Brother out of private bedrooms? The definition of the word "advocacy" provides a clue. Advocacy means "active espousal," or "to recommend publicly." This is precisely what gay advocacy groups are doing. They are recommending to the public - no demanding - endorsement, protection, and privilege for homosexuals. Consider the goal of the ACLU's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project: "Equal treatment and equal dignity for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. That means evenhanded treatment by the government, protection from discrimination in jobs, housing, hotels, restaurants and other public places, and fair and equal treatment for lesbian and gay couples and families." Does this objective limit itself to privacy in the bedroom? Clearly not. Frankly, its vision is so broad that it entails the creation of laws which have the potential to govern social, legal, and educational requirements: in public and in private places; in the classroom and in the work force; in the community and in the world economy. With attempts underway to insure 'equal dignity', for instance to curb the high youth suicide rate among homosexuals (six times higher), again churches run the risk of being blamed for suicides and murders under RICO laws for teaching that homosexuality is sin, and thus inspiring guilt in homosexuals. Gay Advocacy, then, as is the case with abortion, is not about keeping the government eye out of the bedroom, but rather about bringing gay sexuality out of the bedroom - and into the public's eye. It is about persuading Big Brother to get into the home, the work place, the free market, and as the Boy Scouts of America found out in New Jersey, it is about undermining the mission of private organizations which teach 'duty to God' and the value of being 'morally straight' and 'clean'. Which leads observers to conclude, that if this is the right to privacy, then privacy is not private, nor worthy of public praise….."

EWTN News Brief 1/18/2000 "….Scotland's Cardinal Thomas Winning came under fire yesterday after he branded homosexuality a "perversion." Speaking in support of businessman Brian Souter who has offered millions of British pounds to help fight the repeal of Clause 28 -- the so-called anti-homosexual law -- the cardinal said: "I deplore homosexual acts." "I hesitate to use the word perversion but let's face up to the truth," he said. "What pains me is that the silent majority are so silent that the silence is deafening. I wish to God they would speak up. But when you do say something about it, you are accused of homophobia which is absolute rubbish." He added, "I have no objection to anybody. I'm supposed to love my neighbor and I try to do that as much as I can. But I will not stand for this kind of behavior which is now being regarded as wholesome and healthy." He continued: "Homosexuality is promoted every day. It's promoted by people who are on the streets, it's promoted by people who are attracted to others. We only need to look at some of the pamphlets available to see just exactly what is in place to put into schools. I am concerned that children might be converted by some of the literature. There's no doubt about it." ….."

Associated Press 1/24/2000 "….For Ed Flanagan, one of the most painful things about figuring out he was gay as a teen-ager was coming to the realization that he would never get married and have a family. Flanagan came from an Irish-Catholic family, one of five children, "four straight and one gay," he said…. Today, however, the 49-year-old state auditor of accounts sees a future in which getting married, perhaps even becoming a parent, may become options for him and other gays and lesbians. As the first and still only openly gay man in the country to hold a statewide elective office, Flanagan believes he might be in the right time and place to help bring that future about…… Lawmakers must decide whether to expand Vermont's marriage law to include same-sex couples, or set up a parallel system of officially recognized domestic partnerships with the same result, the court said…… When legislators ask Flanagan what he thinks of a system of domestic partnerships as an alternative to same-sex marriage, he tells them "it doesn't tap into all of the wonderful, romantic and emotional impacts" that marriage conveys…… "I would love to be a dad. I've always cherished the idea of being a dad and I think I would be a good dad." ,,,,,:

Boston Globe 1/24/2000 Jeff Jacoby "…. In its long opinion in Baker v. State, the same-sex marriage case, the Vermont Supreme Court tries very hard to stay on legal ground. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Jeffrey Amestoy begins by insisting that ''the issue before the Court ... does not turn on the religious or moral debate over intimate same-sex relationships.''…... Or, as a much-quoted line in the opinion puts it: Stretching the Vermont Constitution so it gives gay couples ''legal protection and security for their avowed commitment to an intimate and lasting human relationship is simply, when all is said and done, a recognition of our common humanity.'' …… Among those quoting that passage is The New Republic, which in its Jan. 10 edition vigorously endorses the opinion in Baker - with none of the court's reluctance to cast the issue in explicitly moral terms. ''A ban on same-sex marriage ... violates civil equality itself,'' TNR's full-page editorial asserts. It is ''a moral anomaly that dehumanizes and excludes a significant portion of the human race.'' The ''ultimate moral ... answer'' is to legalize full marriage for homosexuals, so good people must ''keep marshaling the moral, religious, civic, and human reasons why it is an eminently important and noble thing to do.'' ……. If something is morally wrong, it is morally wrong always. That a society may tolerate - or embrace - an indecent practice does not make it less indecent. Chattel slavery was and is an abomination, no matter how many 19th-century Americans (or 20th-century Sudanese) thought otherwise. Suttee - the Hindu custom of cremating a deceased man together with his living widow - was evil, no matter how many Hindus believed it honorable. Apartheid was immoral, no matter how many South Africans approved of it. Similarly, if barring men from marrying men is an affront to ''our common humanity,'' as the Vermont justices write - if it is an ugly ''moral anomaly,'' as The New Republic says - than it has always been so……"

Boston Globe 1/24/2000 Jeff Jacoby "…. But where are the humanitarians and the great souls who said that limiting marriage to a man and a woman is wrong? Did Francis of Assisi plead for same-sex unions? Did the Buddha? Did Sojourner Truth? Did the Prophet Micah, who yearned for justice and kindness, yearn also for male-male and female-female weddings? Did Martin Luther King, who devoted his life to ''our common humanity?'' Did Raoul Wallenberg, who risked all to thwart evil? Is there anyone - any foe of intolerance, any living saint - who decried even once the laws that kept homosexuals from marrying each other? This is not an argument against same-sex marriage. (That's a different column). It is an argument against the pretense that same-sex marriage is required as a matter of decency. There is no valid moral claim absent moral authority, and there is no moral authority for the claim that restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples is unjust. …."

LA Times 1/24/2000 Larry Stammer "….In a dramatic challenge that underscored sharp divisions among churches over homosexuality, Southern California bishops from three major mainline Protestant denominations joined rabbis and other clergy on Sunday in denouncing the anti-gay marriage initiative on the March 7 California ballot. Speaking to an estimated 600 people who turned out for a teach-in that was part religious revival and part campaign rally, bishops from the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Methodist Church charged that Proposition 22--known as the Knight initiative--is the result of fear and the bearer of bigotry…….. The great divide within and between religious groups was underscored by the Rev. J. Edwin Bacon Jr., rector of All Saints Church. "My sisters and brothers, we are people of God. It is a tragedy that the good leaders of the Mormon Church and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese have allowed themselves to be hijacked by the forces of intolerance and bigotry that gave birth to this hate-filled initiative." Outside the church, half a dozen conservative Christians from Cornerstone Ministries in Los Angeles carried picket signs listing Bible verses decrying homosexuality and warning those at the meeting that "Judgment is coming by God." ….."

CNS News 1/25/2000 Lawrence Morhan "….Tim Buckley, an attorney for Davis Don Carpenter Jr., told CNSNews.com the defense needs more time to prepare arguments against presenting evidence to a jury. Carpenter, 38, and Joshua Macave Brown, 22, are both charged with capital murder and six counts of rape in the death of Jesse Dirkhising on September 26, 1999. Carpenter and Brown are scheduled to go on trial in April and face the death penalty if convicted. Additionally, Buckley asked the court last week to have the state medical examiner's office to preserve bodily fluids gathered at the crime scene in case further independent tests need to be done. The 13-year-old allegedly was drugged, bound and gagged, and raped repeatedly at the men's apartment in Rogers. A coroner said the boy suffocated because of the position in which he was left. Buckley also said that pre-trial publicity - based on evidence he said was leaked by the state - has prejudiced the local population to a point where it is not possible to find an unbiased jury in Benton County……"

EWTN News Brief 1/24/2000 "….Scotland's Cardinal Thomas Winning last night apologized to homosexual activists following newspaper reports that he compared their lobbying to Nazi bombing. In a speech in Malta, Cardinal Winning said homosexual activists were "pushing for greater power" and added: "In place of the bombs of 50 years ago you find yourselves bombarded with images and ideas which are utterly alien." But this sentence was reported as an implied comparison between homosexuals and Nazis, which the Cardinal insists he did not make. In an official statement issued last night, Cardinal Winning said: "In presenting the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church on this issue I constantly return to the principle of loving the sinner while rejecting the sin. Unfortunately, this distinction is rarely reported, with certain sections of the press preferring lurid headlines." …. "I am therefore shocked and saddened by the way in which certain Sunday newspapers have deliberately misinterpreted and misrepresented me," he said. "The suggestion that I compared homosexual activists to Nazis is utterly false." …."

NewsMax.com 1/25/2000 Mona Charen "….He [visitor from Mars] underestimated the ability of gay-interest groups, with the help of an obliging press, to manipulate public opinion. In their hands, the scourge of AIDS became not a caution against homosexual acts (or even against promiscuity), but instead, evidence of the victim status of gay men. If you've seen one, you've doubtless seen a dozen touching stories on TV about faithful, monogamous gay couples, caring for one another for a lifetime, and fighting unjust and ignorant stereotypes. That there are such couples is clearly true. Whether they represent the typical homosexual is another matter. Research suggests that among male homosexuals, promiscuity of strenuous proportions is the norm - and most homosexuals like it that way. Even the most ardent and eloquent advocate for homosexual marriage, Andrew Sullivan, has recently written that he has always defended "the beauty and mystery and spirituality of sex, even anonymous sex." …"

NewsMax.com 1/25/2000 Mona Charen "…. Spirituality? Paging through pamphlets such as those written by the Gay Men's Health Crisis, pamphlets aimed at stemming the tide of HIV infection, it is difficult to see where Sullivan finds beauty, far less spirituality. Some of the practices named are so bizarre that they defy imagination. Others certainly defy the capacity of the human body to take abuse. Still, everywhere one turns these days, the movement to normalize homosexuality and place it on equal footing with heterosexuality is gaining ground. Vice President Al Gore announces that homosexuals will serve openly in the armed forces in his administration, and that this issue will be a litmus test for appointments to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (a position he later backed away from slightly)….. An alliance of education groups and psychological associations has now teamed up to distribute a booklet to all 14,700 public school districts in the nation. Titled the Just the Facts Coalition, the group, which includes the NEA, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association, among others, urges that schools create a "safe and healthy environment in which all students" can learn. Well, no one is against that. But using anti-gay violence as the hook to gain sympathy, the pamphlet offers a highly biased set of "facts" about how the gay orientation develops, and about the supposed futility, even danger, of programs (usually run by Christian ministries) aimed at reversing homosexual inclinations…… "

Boston Herald 1/25/2000 Ed Hayward "….Boston's public high schools will form ``gay-straight alliances'' as required by state law with the help of $40,000 in funding from the Department of Education, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced yesterday. Under the Safe Schools Project, the city's high schools will receive staff and financial support to ensure gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students attend schools free of harassment. ``The No. 1 challenge we face as a city is to ensure a quality education so that no one - not one student - gets left behind,'' Menino said at an event at Boston High School. `…."

New York Daily News 1/24/2000 K C Baker ".....Two male transvestites were arrested last night after slashing a 16-year-old girl in the face and hand on a Queens subway platform, police said. Luz Rodriquez, 25, of 41st Ave. in Queens, was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Jennifer Aquino, 32, who lives at the same address, was charged with assault. ....."

Reuters 2/2/2000 "....A significant number of gay men are becoming infected with the AIDS virus through oral sex -- an activity that was rumoured to be safe, researchers said on Tuesday. A study presented at a meeting of AIDS researchers found nearly 8 percent of recently infected men in the San Francisco area were infected through oral sex.Blah, Blah, Blah Dr. Beth Dillion of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and colleagues at the University of California San Francisco surveyed 102 gay and bisexual men recently infected with HIV and found oral sex was the only risky behaviour that eight of the men had engaged in."...... Of course scientists indicated that they thought it was a much smaller risk compared to anal or vaginal sex. In this study, the eight men who were infected, many of them indicated that they were not aware of the risk." ....."

Conservative News Service 2/3/2000 Susan Jones "..... The city of Boulder, Colorado, scene of the unsolved JonBenet Ramsey murder, this week voted to include transsexuals in its anti-discrimination ordinance. Effective March 1, it will be against the law in Boulder to discriminate against transsexuals in housing, employment, and public accommodation. Groups currently protected under the Boulder's Human Rights Ordinance include women, racial minorities, homosexuals, and bisexuals. The Boulder law defines transsexuals - or "gender-variants" - as people having "a persistent sense that a person's gender identity is incongruent with the person's biological sex." ...."

New York Times 2/2/2000 Elizabeth Becker "....Every member of the armed forces, from four-star generals to privates, will undergo training by the end of the year to prevent anti-gay harassment, the Pentagon announced today in a sweeping admission that its "don't ask, don't tell, don't harass" policy is poorly understood in the ranks. In the wake of the murder of a gay private in Kentucky last July, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen ordered each of the armed services to prepare training programs and asked the senior civilian and military leaders of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines to send letters to their commanders this month emphasizing that anti-gay threats and harassment will not be tolerated. .....The Pentagon said it had no immediate estimate of the cost of the additional training. P. J. Crowley, a Defense Department spokesman, said the expense would be measured in hours rather than dollars. ....."

ABC News via Reuters 2/1/2000 ".... A significant number of gay men are becoming infected with the AIDS virus through oral sex -- an activity that was rumoured to be safe, researchers said on Tuesday. A study presented at a meeting of AIDS researchers found nearly 8 percent of recently infected men in the San Francisco area were infected through oral sex. Dr. Beth Dillion of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and colleagues at the University of California San Francisco surveyed 102 gay and bisexual men recently infected with HIV and found oral sex was the only risky behaviour that eight of the men had engaged in. "It's certainly sobering news," Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, deputy director of the CDC's HIV prevention centre, said in a telephone interview. "We've known ... that there was a risk of HIV transmission through oral sex. Of course scientists indicated that they thought it was a much smaller risk compared to anal or vaginal sex. In this study, the eight men who were infected, many of them indicated that they were not aware of the risk." ....."

The Journal UK Newspaper of the year 2/1/2000 ".... An educational video that encourages children to experiment with gay sex will "help save lives", a health authority insisted yesterday. In the film - produced for the Bristol-based Avon Health Authority - a boy called Karl looks directly into the camera and tells pupils that to obtain sexual satisfaction, they should "try experimenting with both boys and girls to see who you feel most comfortable with". The health authority yesterday defended the video, Beyond a Phase: A Practical Guide to Challenging Homophobia in Schools, which it said aims to reduce suicides, sexually transmitted diseases and the transmission of HIV among young gay men. The video has been distributed to schools across Britain....."

The Springfield News (Oregon) 1/30/2000 ".... Parents upset with graphic sexual content in several scenes during recent student theatrical performances at Thurston High School say they want to know why the scenes were allowed in the first place and they want a promise that similar scenes will not be performed in the future. Principal Larry Bentz said there's no question mistakes were made and that some of the material was inappropriate, but he said he "will not guarantee that kids will not deal with adult level themes in their work in the future." The controversy stemmed from a Jan. 20 performance by students rehearsing for an upcoming regional acting competition. "I'm no prude," said Noelle Covington, mother of one of the students, "but it was gross, it was shocking and it was obscene." Several pieces, chosen by students from a selection of works provided by Thurston drama director Mike Fisher, contained scenes so graphic, Covington said, that they were "disgusting." For example, in one scene, a young girl described a penis in terms of "looking like a mushroom." In another, a girl describes losing her virginity in detail. Other issues, such as abortion, are also included in selections. "I could see some of this at the college level but this is high school," Covington said. "This is a public school." Bentz said the productions were not meant for a general audience but were a way for students in the higher level Acting Ensemble to fine tune their work before the regional competitions scheduled for Feb. 5. He said that while he and Fisher acknowledge some of the material was inappropriate and will be edited before a future performance, only three parents have complained. ....."

Providence Journal-Bulletin 1/28/2000 Mackubin Thomas Owens "….The issue of homosexuals serving openly in the military is shaping up to be one of the most contentious issues in this year's presidential campaign. The tone of the debate was set in December, when President Clinton asserted during a radio interview that the current policy of "don't ask, don't tell," which has been in effect since 1993, was not working as he had intended. …… For example, in his Boson Globe column of Jan. 11, James Carroll writes that "today's soldiers and sailors reluctant to serve shoulder to shoulder with homosexuals are the progeny of racist and sexist soldiers and sailors who were told to get over it or get out." Although it is popular to equate opposition to permitting homosexuals to serve openly in the military today with opposition to racial integration of the services five decades ago, the similarities between the two cases are superficial. Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin Powell, who no doubt knows something about racial discrimination, made the proper distinction in a reply to former Rep. Pat Schroeder, D-Colo., when she argued that point. "Skin color is a benign nonbehavioral characteristic. Sexual orientation is perhaps the most profound of human behavioral characteristics. Comparison of the two is a convenient but invalid argument." ….. For this reason, General Powell stated in testimony before Congress in 1992 that it "would be prejudicial to good order and discipline to try to integrate [open homosexuals] into the current military structure." Congress agreed and subsequently reaffirmed the longstanding exclusion of open homosexuals from military service. This is an important fact that the Democratic candidates either don't understand or are ignoring for partisan political purposes.. ….."

NYPost.com 1/28/2000 Rod Dreher "….. Salon, ever a trailblazer, has just gone beyond character assassination against conservative politicians, and has begun going after them with germ warfare. This week in Salon, syndicated sex columnist Dan Savage wrote of his undercover stint with the Gary Bauer campaign in Iowa. While lying in a Des Moines hotel room suffering from the flu, Savage caught the candidate on TV speaking out against gay marriage. That did it. The openly gay Savage decided his mission was clear: "Get close enough to Bauer to give him the flu, which, if I am successful, will lay him flat just before the New Hampshire primary." Savage regales readers with tales of coughing on everything in the Bauer office, even licking doorknobs when nobody was looking. He sucked on a pen he later handed to the candidate. "My plan was a little malicious -- even a little mean-spirited," Savage wrote. "But those same words describe the tactics used by Bauer and the rest of the religious right against gays and lesbians." My, what tidy moral reasoning. Hate your opponent's rhetoric? Then do your dead-level best to put him and his staff in the hospital. Ugly times, after all, call for ugly tactics. Bauer's Iowa office was shell-shocked by the news. "We just kind of knew him as Dan," said Iowa campaign director Loras Schulte. "This is trash-can journalism at its worst. I have no idea what he may have tried to infect us with." Indeed, it's hard to think of a stunt that could better play into the hands of authentic homophobes. Think of it: a crusading gay avenger secretly tries to pass on a virus to Christian conservatives, and is rewarded for his efforts by a trendy media outlet. It's the kind of fevered propaganda you'd expect from the crazy "God hates fags" people….."

Albuquerque Journal 1/27/2000 Jeff Jones "….A rural Bernalillo County man is suspected of drugging four boys at different times, then molesting and performing sex acts on them while videotaping the crimes. The sheriff's department is concerned the suspect, 29-year-old Marcus Hahn, may have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. And investigators haven't ruled out the possibility of other victims. Investigators "believe that Mr. Hahn is a predator and has no regard for the safety of children," according to a criminal complaint filed against him in Metropolitan Court. "It is possible that Mr. Hahn has the HIV virus and possibly spread it to his victims in the filmed videos." Three of the four boys Hahn is accused of sexually exploiting haven't yet been identified by investigators, said Lt. Dennis Nasci, head of the sheriff's narcotics and sex-crimes units. "We'd sure like to know who the victims are," Nasci said Wednesday. "There's others we suspect, but we don't know for sure. Until we're satisfied we have all of the victims, we'll continue to investigate it." ….."

Washington Times 1/28/2000 Rowan Scarborough "….The Army has ordered mandatory homosexual sensitivity training for all soldiers in the aftermath of the murder of a soldier at Fort Campbell, Ky. The Pentagon is also issuing written surveys to military personnel on how their commands view homosexuals. The survey, for example, asks if service members have heard jokes or negative remarks about homosexuals. The training order and written questionnaire are part of the military's drive to rid the ranks of anti-homosexual actions and statements. Pfc. Barry Winchell, the Fort Campbell soldier, was killed in July by a barracks mate who thought Pfc. Winchell was homosexual. Pvt. Calvin N. Glover was court-martialed for the killing and sentenced to life in prison. The actions also come after first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Clinton criticized his own policy on homosexuals -"don't ask, don't tell," which bars open homosexuality in the ranks. The survey and training is not sitting well with some armed forces members, who complain the Pentagon is promoting the homosexual agenda……"

Wallaby 1/24/2000 ".... In recent weeks, a few posts and bumps on the Free Republic have involved stories of the use of boy prostitutes and surveillance for the purpose of blackmail by the highest levels of government. In one instance, dignitaries from 17 countries attending a 1993 APEC conference were placed under surveillance while some were being compromised by a child sex ring. The boys are believed to have been 15 to 17 years old. As shocking as this may be, some say it's routine. A former Bush economic adviser observes, "The sex? That's done all the time. If a foreign diplomat wants a companion, the State Department provides it. It doesn't matter if it's a man or woman. They have a special fund set up for that."

EWTN News Brief 1/29/2000 "….Italian newspapers reported today the Vatican is expected to protest plans for a global homosexual pride festival in Rome this summer. World Gay Pride 2000 is scheduled between June 28 and July 9 and is expected to be attended by one million people, dropping the controversial event in the middle of the Catholic Church's Jubilee Year 2000. The festival, which is expected to include the usual expressions of antagonism toward the Catholic Church for its teachings on the immorality of homosexuality, has received 350 million lire ($178,000) from Rome's city government. The city of Rome and the Vatican City-State have a unique, symbiotic relationship due to the 2,000-year history of the Church in Rome and embodied in the 1929 Lateran Treaty. …."

National Post 1/31/2000 Susan Martinuk "….. A new sexual revolution is brewing among young lovers in France. Parents are mystified, sociologists are searching for explanations and sex educators are reaching for the panic button. Why? Because French teens are saying "no" to the liberal sexual attitudes that have long been a part of their culture. They have been raised by sexually liberated parents in a land notorious for carefree attitudes toward sex, but they are refusing to indulge in the sexual smorgasbord set before them. Suddenly, sexual conservatism is "in" and sexual promiscuity is "tacky."….. This shift in sexual behaviour is newsworthy in itself. But even more revealing is the response to this trend by sex educators and AIDS groups. Rather than applauding it, they are labelling it as evidence of gross ignorance about the "virtues" of safe sex. Sadly, they are determined to fix this ignorance and have convinced the government to launch a new nationwide sex education program, ostensibly so teens can get back to the "norm" of sexual promiscuity.....,,:

I National Post 1/31/2000 Susan Martinuk "….. In North America, we have already witnessed the results of this commitment to teaching ideology rather than sexual restraint. Our teens have more knowledge about sexuality and greater access to birth control than ever before. Yet teen pregnancies are still rising, STDs are reaching epidemic proportions and teens are increasingly having sex at a younger age……. We expect teens to adhere to rules in other areas of life, yet we hand them the keys to enter the adult world of sexuality without any expectations of responsibility other than to wear a condom. Apparently, discussions about rules don't fit well with the doctrine of sexual freedom and are all-too-easily dismissed as "judgmental" and rooted in traditional morality. But without a context of love, commitment and rules, the basic premise for sex education is that teens will have sex. Therefore, sex educators simply provide them with condoms and tell them how to express various kinds of sexuality. As a result, teens are bombarded with detailed instructions on how to masturbate, have oral sex and participate in homosexual acts such as "fisting" (inserting a fist into the anus). They are asked to place condoms on models of erect penises and to insert fingers into models of vaginas. They are given pamphlets detailing so-called "safe" sadomasochistic activities. Such information can be overwhelmingly enticing, especially when combined with the desensitizing impact of blatant sexual messages. Our society is saturated with sex through movies, TV, advertising and music videos. Through the media, most teens have witnessed hundreds of sexual acts where sex is separated from love and limited to biological function; where every moral restraint is removed; and where every kind of sex is legitimized and rationalized. The mystery of sex has been deadened. No wonder it has been reduced to a game with a scorecard.......:

Boston Herald 1/31/2000 Don Feder "..... In the name of ``justice, sexual morality and healing,'' a group of trendy clerics issued a statement endorsing fornication, licentiousness and sodomy. Given the moral drift of mainline Protestant churches, these impostors would probably bless the union of a man and a Brussels sprout, if the culture condoned it. The manifesto, signed by 900-plus members of the Church of What's Happening Now - which ran as a recent ad in The New York Times - calls for public approval of same-sex marriage, sex education for all grades, unrestricted access to abortion and population control. Half of the signers are from four of the nation's most liberal denominations. Except for one nun and a few lay leaders, backing from the Roman Catholic Church was nil. No Evangelicals, Orthodox rabbis or black pastors signed on. ....."

UK-sunday times 1/30/2000 Rosie Waterhouse and James Clark "….. A VIDEO that encourages schoolchildren as young as 14 to experiment with gay sex has caused outrage among MPs and family campaigners. The film, now available in 180 schools, also asks pupils aged 14-16 to discuss whether a fictional 15-year-old boy - Michael - should have unprotected gay sex with his boyfriend. The Department of Health faced furious calls last night to step in and block the teaching pack, which was paid for by Avon health authority using public money. The pack - called Beyond a Phase: A Practical Guide to Challenging Homophobia in Schools - is being cited by campaigners as a prime example of why Labour should abandon plans to scrap section 28, the law that forbids the promotion of homosexuality in schools. The 14-minute film would be a clear breach of the law if health authorities were not exempted from section 28. In it a young college student called Karl tells his audience of school pupils that to obtain sexual satisfaction they should "try experimenting with both boys and girls to see who you feel most comfortable with". Valerie Riches, of the Family and Youth Campaign pressure group, said: "This puts concepts and activities into the minds of youngsters they would not normally think about." ….."

Jewish World Review 1/31/2000 Don Feder "….LAST WEEK, in the name of "justice, sexual morality and healing," a group of trendy clerics issued a statement endorsing fornication, licentiousness and sodomy. Given the moral drift of the mainline Protestant churches, these impostors would probably bless the union of a man and a bowl of Brussels sprouts, if the culture condoned it. The manifesto, signed by 900-plus members of the Church of What's Happening Now, calls for public approval of same-sex marriage, sex education for all grades, unrestricted access to abortion and population control. ….. Except for one nun and a few lay leaders, backing from the Roman Catholic Church was nil. No Evangelicals, Orthodox rabbis, or black pastors signed on. ….."

Kansas City Star 1/29/2000 Judy Thomas "…..Hundreds of Roman Catholic priests across the United States have died of AIDS-related illnesses, and hundreds more are living with HIV, the virus that causes the disease. The actual number of AIDS deaths is difficult to determine. But it appears priests are dying of AIDS at a rate at least four times that of the general U.S. population, according to estimates from medical experts and priests and an analysis of health statistics by The Kansas City Star. In Missouri and Kansas alone, at least 16 priests and two religious-order brothers have died of AIDS since early 1987. The deaths are of such concern to the church that most dioceses and religious orders now require applicants for the priesthood to take an HIV-antibody test before their ordination. For the nation's 60 million Catholics, served by 46,000 priests, the AIDS issue goes straight to the heart of church doctrine -- a doctrine that teaches compassion and forgiveness but also considers homosexual relations a sin and opposes the modern practice of "safe sex." In a nationwide confidential survey of 3,000 priests by The Star, two-thirds of the more than 800 responding lauded the church for being caring and compassionate to priests with AIDS. Often, the church covers medical costs, gives them a place to live and cares for them until they die. Most priests, however, said the church failed to offer an early and effective sexual education that might have prevented infection in the first place. Two-thirds said sexuality either was not addressed at all or was not discussed adequately in the seminary. Three of four said the church needed to offer more education about sexual issues. ….."

ABC Raw News 1/30/2000 Reuters "…..News that powerful combinations of HIV drugs can help people with the AIDS virus live longer and remain healthy has caused some people to resume the high-risk behavior that can lead to infection, researchers said Sunday. They said they had the most disturbing evidence yet that gays, heterosexuals and drug users were all becoming less worried about HIV and taking fewer steps to protect themselves -- and others -- from the disease. For several years, doctors have found that combinations of HIV drugs, or drug cocktails, can keep many HIV-infected people alive and healthy, although the drugs have bad side effects. But some people seem to misinterpret what this means for the HIV epidemic, said Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, deputy director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention in Atlanta…….. Stan Lehman and colleagues at the CDC studied 1,976 people who either did not have HIV or who had not been tested for the virus. They had all taken part in a seven-state survey on sexual behavior. They included 693 homosexual and bisexual men who patronized gay bars, 600 intravenous drug users, and 683 heterosexuals who visited sexually transmitted disease clinics. The survey found that 31 percent were "less concerned" about becoming infected and 17 percent were "less careful" about sexual or drug use practices because they had heard about the available treatments……"

Naples Daily News 2/8/00 Denise Zoldan "….About 900 people have signed form letters addressed to the Collier County School Board and the School Board's Diversity Task Force, "vigorously opposing the inclusion of 'sexual orientation' " in the district's anti-harassment/discrimination policy set to go before the task force tonight. Inclusion of "sexual orientation" would allow gays and lesbians to be singled out for protection, which has caused alarm among some Collier County parents. Homosexuals are not a constitutionally protected class of people. Adding "sexual orientation" to anti-discrimination policies at government agencies and private businesses is an issue that has come to the forefront nationwide recently. In March, the Palm Beach County School Board faced a similar decision on whether to add sex orientation to its anti-discrimination policy, but by a majority vote decided not to. Palm Beach County School Board members said at the time the current policy met federal and state law and did not condone harassment against anyone. ….."

New York Times 2/10/00 Barbara Whitaker "….Under the protection of a court but in defiance of a school board's wishes, a group of gay teenagers held their weekly lunch-hour meeting today in an empty classroom at El Modena High School here. But whether they will ever do so again remains uncertain. In a fight that has roiled this conservative suburban community and drawn attention from legal scholars across the country, the Orange Unified School District is seeking to ban the group, contending that it is inappropriate because it deals with issues of sexuality. Now, faced with a lawsuit and a judge's preliminary injunction, the district is considering a new approach: whether to vote on Thursday to ban all 38 noncurricular clubs, including the Black Student Union and the Gentlemen's Club, as a way of halting the gay group's meetings. Only one other school district, Salt Lake City, has taken such an approach, and a lawsuit against that district is still moving through the courts. ….."

EWTN News Brief 2/8/00 "….An auxiliary bishop of Detroit on Sunday rallied in the suburb of Ferndale for the passage of a new city ordinance that would ban discrimination against homosexuals and lesbians and would not exempt churches or church-run organizations, according to the Detroit News newspaper. Bishop Thomas Gumbleton spoke at a rally at St. James Catholic Church in Ferndale in support of the ordinance that will go before voters on February 22. "This will send a message that we do not tolerate any discrimination in this community," he said. "Every person has certain rights that extend beyond how they act or live." …… If passed violators, including churches that refuse to hire homosexuals for positions in charities, educational positions, day care centers, or even the clergy, would face $500 fines and civil lawsuits. ….."

American Family Association Journal 2/00 "…..First there was the highly controversial video It's Elementary, intended as a primer for teachers to help them persuade children that homosexuality is normal and natural. Now the sequel will be larger and more to the point: That's A Family! kicks off a three-video series that will be shown directly to children in classrooms across the country, shamelessly attempting to persuade kids that homosexuality should be accepted and affirmed. "If principals and teachers thought It's Elementary was a volatile issue, wait until they see and hear what this next video series stirs up," said AFA vice president Tim Wildmon. "It's bad enough to instruct teachers on how they can force-feed little children a pro-homosexual message. Now these activists want direct access to the hearts and minds of kids who are essentially a captive audience in their classrooms." In a letter to supporters, It's Elementary producers Debra Chasnoff and Helen Cohen bragged about the "stunning" success they had in marketing their first video to schools across the country, and in convincing 115 PBS stations to air it as well. That's A Family!, the letter said, is intended to be shown directly to children and is "the first anti-bias media curriculum available for elementary and middle school classrooms that integrates gay people into the full spectrum of diversity." …… Chasnoff and Cohen make no secret of the fact that they intend to change children's minds on the subject of homosexuality through these three videos. "The long-term impact of this project will be tremendous. Giving elementary school students the opportunity to...experience gay and lesbian families in the context of such an incredibly diverse group of other families, could have a positive effect on their attitudes for the rest of their lives," they said. ….."

Capitol Alert/Sacramento Bee 2/9/00 Aurelio Rojas Bee "….A month before the March 7 primary, a majority of voters continue to support a ballot initiative that would ban recognition of same-sex marriages in California, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Field Institute. The telephone survey conducted last week found that backing for Proposition 22 remains steady even as awareness of the measure has jumped: 52 percent said they plan to vote yes, 39 said no, and 9 percent were undecided. …."

Associated Press 2/9/00 Laurence Cruz "….Dan Savage, gay writer of an outrageous and comically explicit sex-advice column, is waging either germ warfare or a disinformation campaign against the religious right. He claimed recently that while posing as a volunteer for Gary Bauer's campaign in Iowa, he licked office doorknobs and coffee cups and handed the conservative Republican a slobbered-on pen to try to infect him with the flu. Bauer's people were furious, but Savage, 35, now says the part about the germs never happened and was just a joke - a metaphoric reply to Bauer's rhetoric against homosexuals and gay marriage. Either way, the episode was characteristic of a man who regularly pushes boundaries in his Seattle-based column "Savage Love," which appears in 28 alternative newspapers around the country, including the Village Voice in New York, and is read by an estimated 4 million people a week. …..Savage, who with his partner recently adopted a little boy, is the very incarnation of all that the Christian conservative movement despises. There is no sex act too perverse, no sex subject too outlandish for him to delve blithely into - often in blush-inducing detail. ……. "

PBS 'Front Line' 2/9/00 Freeper sigi "…..I just watched part of this PBS 'Front Line' report. It is about wild sex parties in a small afluent community. Young middle school girls having sex with dozens of boys who line up at a party. Real sex orgies right out of the porno movies they were watching. PBS actually interviewed some of the teenage kids involved. Many of these teens were infected with syphilis as a result of their sex, alcohol and drug parties.... I became so angry had to turn off the television……. EXCERPTS FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH A SCHOOL COUNSELOR ……….. How can it be that a guidance counselor knows more about a child's life than a parent? ….. ... We have counselors, kindergarten through twelfth grade, in this school system. ... By the time a child gets to middle school or even high school, they know what a counselor is for. They know the counselor is there as a guide for them. As a listener. ... Very many of the children are very frustrated. …… Like what? Be specific if you would. ……Adult questions-- such as whether or not to participate in parties where there is drinking. Parties where there is drug abuse. Parties where there may be persons where there may be children who are much older than them or semi-adults. For example a party where there would be a lot of 14 year olds but there would also be 18 year olds or maybe 20 year olds at the party. Whether or not they should be sneaking out of their house in the middle of the night to go do something without their parents' knowledge. Whether or not they should participate in what they know as illicit behavior. Driving, illegal behavior. Driving without a license. Those kinds of things that really should not, that they really that most adults don't think children should have to deal with until they're older. ...... "

PBS 'Front Line' 2/9/00 Freeper sigi "….. Let's talk about the culture in which these kids are growing up. Their own culture. The culture that surrounds them. Talk about the influence of television on these kids. What they're seeing. ...I think television, movies, computer games, the media if you will, had a lot of influence on children. They have access, even by their own computers to things around the entire world. If they're influenced by it, it's probably more in seeing things that they may not have seen otherwise from lots of information that they wouldn't have been able, that they may not know otherwise about relationships. They see sex.. ... "

PBS 'Front Line' 2/9/00 Freeper sigi "…..How young are kids having sex now? ….. Several years ago a counselor came to me and said that she was extremely surprised to find that she had a fifth grade student who was sexually active. And this is a young girl who was 10 years old. That's an isolated incident. It is even now unusual. But I think what was more common for the older adolescents 10 years ago is becoming, not common-- at least, it's known that it exists at much younger ages such as 12, 13, 14. ... …."

PBS 'Front Line' 2/9/00 Freeper sigi "…..What you're describing is in a sense--kids who are running their own lives. ……I think there are a lot of children who are running their own lives. Who really are testing limits or don't know what the limits are. One or the other. And they don't have the maturity. They don't have the experiences. They don't understand the consequences. They don't even understand time, the concept of time as well as a person who's an adult. And by adult, I mean probably 25 plus. And so they're like a balloon out there floating around in the sky with little direction and to run into a power line or to a tree and just burst is something that they're very unaware that could happen. They don't know what's down the road. So I think there are many young people now who are very anxious about their lives and where they're headed and which way they're going. ……"

Boston Globe 2/7/00 AP "….Some Vermont lawmakers are taking the debate over gay marriage to their constituents. There were two different forums in the Upper Connecticut River Valley over the weekend. Rep. Ann Seibert said not to expect a positive vote on gay marriage this year. In one breath, the Norwich Democrat said that she ''unequivocally'' supported same-sex marriage. In the next, before even one person could applaud, she delivered a dose of reality. ''It ain't going to be in Vermont this year because we don't have the votes,'' Seibert said. Only about 50 representatives in the 150-member House have said they would vote for gay marriage so far, said Seibert. ….."

Detroit Free Press 2/8/00 Ned McGrath "….THE SPATE OF recent coverage about Catholic priests with AIDS recalls the motto of a former employer of mine, a Chicago television station. Its call letters were an acronym, inherited from previous newspaper owners, "WMAQ: We Must Ask Questions." ….. Last month the Kansas City Star, a Knight Ridder-owned paper as is the Detroit Free Press, began a three-day, eight-part series: "AIDS in the Priesthood." Containing no small undercurrent of sexual innuendo, the lead story was scooped up by news services and broadcast outlets across the country……The chief finding, if we can call it that, of this special report was that priests' deaths from AIDS are at least four times that of the general populace. An eye-grabbing statistic, to be sure, although it's based in large part on the Star's own survey, which it conducted nationally by mail. Twenty-seven percent of randomly selected priests responded. The Star, and likewise the Detroit media, had no way of knowing -- and still don't -- if the 801 who responded were representative of the country's 47,000 priests or, for that matter, the 1,600 in Michigan……Priests' deaths from AIDS were compared with those in the general population, including women and children, and not exclusively with other unmarried males….."

National Post 2/12/00 "….Michael Ingham, the Anglican bishop of Vancouver, says the current crisis in the worldwide church over homosexual rights is the work of wealthy conservatives in the United States, who are using slick, American-style lobbying to turn church leaders from Africa and Asia into anti-gay activists. "This is a well-orchestrated, well-financed political lobby," says Bishop Ingham, one of Canada's most liberal Anglican leaders. "I don't think the issue would be getting much attention if not for the near hysteria that's been whipped up by a very small group from the United States." ….."

Associated Press 2/13/00 Julia Lieblich "….In a long-awaited report, an Episcopal Church commission declined to take a position on same-sex unions. If church leaders follow the report's recommendations, they would leave in place an unofficial policy that lets individual dioceses decide whether to bless gay marriages. The report, to be released Monday, does not back either a liberal or conservative position on gay marriage, which has become increasingly common in the Episcopal Church. ``We are not ready, theologically or scientifically, to say a defining word about the life of homosexuals in the church,'' said the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, whose recommendations will be discussed at the church's national convention in July. ``In the context of reverence -- and humility -- it seems best not to take absolutist positions on a national level.'' ….."

WND 2/12/00 David M. Bresnahan "….Speaking to a group of trial lawyers at a $25,000-a-head Dallas, Texas fund-raising speech, President Clinton called Republican National Committee chairman Jim Nicholson a "gay basher" and criticized him for his views on trial lawyers, labor unions, and Hollywood. When WorldNetDaily sent a White House transcript of the president's remarks to Nicholson for comment, the RNC chairman -- who said he had been unaware of the president's verbal attacks on him -- said he would demand an apology from Clinton. "I'm drafting a letter demanding an apology for accusing us of gay bashing, something we would never do," he said. Clinton went to the Preston Hollow mansion of American Trial Lawyers Association vice president Frederick M. Baron, and partner Lisa Blue, on Wednesday to address 60 attorneys who paid $25,000 and more to rub elbows with the president. He spoke earlier in the day at two other private homes in border town McAllen. Estimates of the amounts raised range from $1.1 to $2 million. ……."

The Sacramento Bee / Newsmax.com 2/12/00 Jan Ferris "…..The 67 Methodist pastors who blessed a gay union last year, in apparent violation of the sect's national stance, will not face a formal church trial, it was announced today. The decision, made by seven fellow pastors in the California-Nevada Methodist conference, came after unusual public hearings on the issue, at which speakers challenged the traditional interpretation of the Methodist Book of Rules. The California-Nevada conference is widely viewed as one of the most liberal in the nation, and the decision puts the conference at odds with others in the country that have defrocked ministers for officiating gay marriages. Nevertheless, under Methodist rules, the case stops here. Local pastors say the victory gives them momentum heading into the church's national conference in May; it also opens the door to more such ceremonies. …... "

Daily Republican 2/11/00 Sam Goldman "….Professors and administrators at most of our most prominent institutions bring their ideological baggage to class with them, hoping to use the educational process as a vehicle for social engineering. Williams students, for instance, were required to declare "Hello, my name is _______, and I'm Gay!" as a part of a Feel What It Is Like To Be Gay meeting. Such abuses of the trust placed in professionals by students and parents is even more disturbing than the Boalt student radicals' Orwellian outbursts….."

News & Observer 2/11/00 "…..A small group of gay men and women has lent some unexpected support to a proposed same-sex marriage ban on California's March ballot. The Proposition 22 campaign on Thursday announced formation of a coalition called "Gays for 22." The initiative states that the only valid marriages in California are those between men and women. California already withholds legal recognition from gay marriages performed in the state. The proposition is aimed at blocking the state from recognizing gay marriages performed elsewhere. Members of the new coalition said they back the initiative because they believe Californians should make their own decisions about what marriages are legally recognized. ….

PalmettoJournal.com 2/11/00 Andy Jackson "…..We received the following report from one of our readers. We also confirmed this account with others who were present. Candidate John McCain visited North Augusta, South Carolina on February 8, 2000 at 8:00 am. A member of the audience interrupted McCain when he mentioned keeping homosexuals in the military. The man quoted the Bible and instructed McCain that homosexuality is a sin. McCain said, "I don't think homosexuality is a sin." At that point the audience booed McCain. The press has neglected to mention anything about this incident. A radio station talk show host did leak it to the public and commented, "You could feel the momentum leave the room" when McCain gave his answer. …."

World Net Daily 2/5/00 Dr Alan Keyes "….I believe we need to return to the ban on gays in the military. The present policy is unconscionable, and puts an intolerable burden on the military. It signals to people who are homosexual that they may enter the military with the full expectation that the practice of homosexuality will be winked at by military authorities. Under the current policy, it is quite reasonable to form the impression that homosexuality will not be looked upon as a violation. Meanwhile, the regulations that say it is a violation stay in place. So what are the people who have responsibility for enforcing those regulations supposed to do when they come across information that suggests violations are occurring? It is true even more in the military than in civic life that respect for the laws that define justice and right behavior is the most fundamental prerequisite for the well-being of the community. The "don't ask, don't tell" policy is a classic instance of the preferred Clinton assault against decency. He attacks by arranging things so that there will be a persistent, gnawing erosion of the well-built structures of human life. In this case, the real target is the never-ending struggle by military leaders to burnish in their charges the respect for military order that will ensure willing obedience under even the most daunting of circumstances. "Don't ask, don't tell" is Clinton's program of euthanasia for military discipline. For what is the inevitable result of such Clintonesque gray areas in a military chain of command? It gives rise to resentment, and to a corresponding lack of confidence on the part of military authorities in enforcing the regulations. And, of course, it gives rise to possibilities of abuse, where subjective judgments can be interposed in order to play favorites or pursue private vendettas.

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 2/7/00 Tom Knott "…… Not too long ago, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani opposed a museum that showed a painting of the Virgin Mary at one with elephant dung. Predictably, the incredibly sophisticated wrapped themselves in the First Amendment and accused the mayor of being a small-minded Neanderthal. Obviously, you have to be a mentally gifted person to understand the connection between the Virgin Mary and elephant dung, and it eventually became clear that Mayor Giuliani and many others did not have the necessary brain power to grasp what the artist was trying to say……. The incredibly sophisticated who believe in the appropriateness of the Virgin Mary with elephant dung find nothing appropriate about John Rocker....... Rocker picked on "a kid with purple hair, a queer with AIDS, a dude out of jail for the fourth time and a 20-year-old mom with four kids." Many of America's leading thinkers, including Bud Selig, have, in effect, come out in defense of kids with purple hair, the behavior associated with AIDS, the criminal element and highly reproductive young women. Selig, who couldn't look sillier with purple hair, is hoping Rocker sees the light, or goes away, and has ordered a series of punishments to facilitate the process. Rocker is suspended from baseball until May 1, $20,000 lighter in the wallet and undergoing sensitivity training. Rocker, in his position as a role model, must be made to realize that his words hurt the good baseball fans of New York City in a profound way……"

CNSNews.com 2/4/00 Chris Sieroty "…..A federal judge on Friday ordered school officials to allow a homosexual tolerance club to meet at an Orange County, CA, high school pending resolution of a lawsuit. The judge said he felt that, otherwise, the homosexual group might suffer "irreparable harm." US District Court Judge David O Carter issued the preliminary injunction against the Orange Unified School District while a lawsuit filed by two homosexual El Modena High School students plays out in court. "Plaintiffs have been injured not only by the board's excessive delay but also by the inability to effectively address the hardships they encounter at school every day,'' Carter said in a written ruling. Even though Carter ruled temporarily in favor of the students, his ruling also urged the Orange Unified School District to appeal its case to the state Supreme Court. ….."

NewsWatch - Center for Media and Public Affairs 2/6/00 David Murray S Robert Lichter "…. On Jan. 29, an exclusive Kansas City Star story carried nationwide through the Knight-Ridder News Service proclaimed a scandal of silence in the Catholic Church involving priests and their sexuality. As the San Jose Mercury News headlined, the "Death Rate From AIDS is Higher for Priests." Based on the results of 801 responses to a mail survey the Star sent to 3,013 priests, the story begins, "Hundreds of Roman Catholic priests across the United States have died of AIDS-related illnesses, and hundreds more are living with HIV, the virus that causes the disease." Despite the heavy and uncritical news coverage, questions about the survey suggest caution in inferring a hidden AIDS epidemic among priests. Instead, they illustrate the pitfalls awaiting news organizations that conduct surveys in order to create news……. "

AP Wire 2/4/00 Meg Richards "….Elian Gonzalez's Miami relatives are outraged over his Cuban grandmother's account of how she playfully bit the 6-year-old boy's tongue and unzipped his pants during their long-awaited reunion. "The family is shocked and disturbed," Armando Gutierrez, spokesman for the Miami relatives, said Friday. "That is not a Cuban custom." Through Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., Elian's Florida relatives requested a meeting with Attorney General Janet Reno next week to discuss unspecified new information about the case, Justice spokesman Carole Florman said. ..."

Media Studies Ctr 2/1/00 Sarah Rasmusson "….Neither local TV news coverage nor the newsrooms that generate it adequately represent the gay community, agreed New York-area broadcasting executives at Newseum/NY on Jan. 27. "Diversity is really the key," insisted Bart Feder, news director of WABC's "Eyewitness News" in New York. "If we don't open up the ideas, then we don't cover the stories." The discussion, "View from the Top: Local TV News," was co-hosted by Newseum/NY and the New York Chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Barbara Raab, producer for NBC's "Dateline" and a member of NLGJA, opened the discussion by asking panelists to grade their newsrooms on their coverage of gay and lesbian issues and the AIDS epidemic……"

The New American 2/4/00 William Norman Grigg "….. The Cider House Rules, recently released by Disney subsidiary Miramax, portrays abortion as "the work of the Lord," in hope that pregnant women will seek out the "miracle" of death. The Cider House Rules, a film released by Disney subsidiary Miramax just in time for Christmas, is a Satanic inversion of the Christmas story. In the film, an avatar of the child-killer Herod, as represented by World War II-era abortionist Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine), offers salvation to women by "delivering" them from the supposed curse of pregnancy. "I give them what they want - either an orphan or an abortion," Larch explains. Women seek him out at his state-run orphanage in the fictional town of St. Cloud's, Maine, where - according to their preference - their children are either delivered at term and deposited in the orphanage, or slaughtered in the womb and their remains carted away to the incinerator. …."

World Net Daily 2/6/00 Julie Foster "…. A decision is months overdue on a complaint brought against a Saskatchewan newspaper and one of its advertisers by the province's Human Rights Commission for printing an ad, consisting of four Bible verses, which the commission says violates homosexuals' human rights. Though a decision is expected any day, defenders of the ad say the case will surely make its way to the Canadian Supreme Court. ….."

MSNBC 2/3/00 Howard Kurtz "….A Salon magazine writer who went undercover and tried to infect presidential candidate Gary Bauer with the flu has sniffled his way into a heap of trouble. DAN SAVAGE, WHO was stricken with fever, says he put a pen in his mouth, handed it to the candidate and asked for an autograph. A gay journalist who was working as a volunteer in Bauer's Iowa campaign, Savage also says he licked the doorknobs, telephones and coffee cups in the Des Moines office - all because he despises Bauer's fervent opposition to gay rights and gay marriage. "To do what he did - wanting to infect people with the flu, and God knows what other germs he was carrying - is just inexcusable behavior," Bauer's Iowa campaign manager, Loras Schulte, said yesterday. "It's reprehensible. Had he directed that just at me, I would have remembered my Christian admonition to turn the other cheek. But I had men, women and children working in the office in very close quarters." ......"

World Net Daily 2/7/00 Jane Chastain "….."Homophobe" is an epithet commonly used by gay activists to describe anyone who objects to the practice of homosexuality or the gay rights movement. On the other hand, the term is routinely dismissed by people who consider it to be part of the ranting of the small minority who engage in homosexuality and want to force society to accept homosexuality as normal…… According to Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, who has practiced psychoanalysis and psychiatry for more than 23 years, "It was coined to mean both a worry about being homosexual as well as to refer to an opinion that homosexuality is not good." Satinover, a former Fellow in Psychiatry and Child Psychiatry at Yale University, says that in recent years the word has appeared in some federally funded studies without being satisfactorily defined as a medical condition. "This use is a pure corruption of the medical process," said Satinover, "Opinions are not diseases except to dictators." Unfortunately, that is about to change…."

World Net Daily 2/7/00 Jane Chastain "…..The Centers for Disease Control, the official health arm of the federal government, used the word for the first time last month with an implied definition that would please the most radical members of the gay community. Dr. Paul Cameron, the psychologist who heads the Family Research Institute in Colorado Springs, stumbled upon this passage in the CDC's "Morbidity and Mortality Report" for the week of Jan. 14. On page 10 of this publication, under the heading "HIV/AIDS Among Racial/Minority Men Who Have Sex with Men," we have this revelation: Race/ethnicity itself is not a risk factor for HIV infection. However, among racial/ethic minority MSM (men who have sex with men) social and economic factors, such as homophobia, high rates of poverty and unemployment and lack of access to health care, are associated with high rates of HIV risk behavior. The definition of homophobia, as it is used here, came farther down in the passage: Within racial/ethnic minority communities, the stigma attached to acknowledging homosexual and bisexual activity may inhibit racial/ethic minority MSM from identifying themselves as homosexual or bisexual and they may be more likely to identify with their racial/ethnic minority community than with the MSM community. When you put these two paragraphs together, you have the complete picture the CDC is presenting here: Those with homophobia do not accept homosexuality. Homophobic people, therefore, present a health risk. This is not the first time this term as been used or implied by a federal agency. During the seven years of the Clinton administration, we have seen it pop up now and then, but this is the first time it has been used by the Centers for Disease Control, which has dictatorial powers on life and death matters. The implication for churches, religious broadcasters and faith-based groups like the Boy Scouts, which hold to traditional Judeo-Christian morality, are huge……What the CDC is trying to do is characterize anyone who has an objection to homosexuality as disturbed and a public health threat. This is a bullying tactic. The important thing to remember is that most bullies are cowards. These people back down when there is an appropriate amount of outrage….."

The Columbus Dispatch 2/7/00 "….. Flag trial begins today Charles Spingola is charged with ethnic intimidation for tearing down a gay-pride symbol. Monday, February 7, 2000 BY Kevin Mayhood Dispatch Staff Reporter File photo The rainbow flag was flown at the Ohio Statehouse for the first time on June 27, 1999, during Columbus' annual gay-pride march. Charles Spingola and his supporters say the fact that he faces trial for ripping down a gay- pride flag shows how far man's laws have moved away from God's word. But for gay-rights advocates, the trial in Franklin County Municipal Court shows just how far the law has come to protect their speech. Jury selection was to begin today in Spingola's trial on a charge that he violated the city's ordinance against ethnic intimidation…….."

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS 2/3/00 David Murray and S. Robert Lichter "….On January 29, an exclusive Kansas City Star story carried nationwide through the Knight-Ridder News Service proclaimed a scandal of silence in the Catholic Church involving priests and their sexuality…….. Despite the heavy and uncritical news coverage, questions about the survey suggest caution in inferring a hidden AIDS epidemic among priests. Consider the following assertions about the survey from the Star article and the Knight-Ridder dispatch: "The response rate was very good" said the Rev. Rodney DeMartini, executive director of the National Catholic AIDS Network." In fact, few survey researchers would consider a 27 percent response rate to be "very good." It means that nearly three of four priests who were targeted failed to respond. Normally, when a response rate is this low, follow-up surveys are conducted to increase the returns or at least to learn whether the minority who responded were representative. "Given the sample size, the poll's margin of error is 3.5 percentage points, meaning that if the same poll were conducted 100 times, 95 percent of those times the results would be no more than 3.5 percentage points higher or lower than the results of this poll," the article said. This boilerplate description of sampling error would only be valid if we knew that the 801 respondents were representative of the nationwide population of approximately 46,000 priests. But we have no idea whether the minority who responded were unusually concerned about AIDS, differentially open to questions of personal sexuality, or even more likely to have a homosexual orientation (see below) than the 2,212 non-respondents. Without knowing such things, we cannot estimate how much other poll results might vary from this survey's findings. And this undermines the substantive claims that follow….."

The Boston Globe 2/2/00 Sandy Coleman "…..When the legendary, ivy-covered Phillips Academy in Andover approved a new policy allowing gay faculty members to live in student dormitories with their partners as house counselors, Bill Constantine applauded. But Constantine, a parent from New York, admits that the topic made him hesitate when it was first raised. Although at home he preaches tolerance and understanding of all kinds of people, with his daughter, Claire, an 11th-grader at Andover, the issue seemed more complex. ''Is a same-sex couple the right role model in the dormitory?'' Constantine said he wondered. ''Is this a role model you want? Does this encourage young kids to consider a same-sex relationship as a course they should follow? I don't know that it does or doesn't. The thought just went through my head.'' Constantine's contemplation was shared by officials at Andover, where the new policy takes effect in the fall, and at least three other New England boarding schools that have quietly made gay faculty counselors and their partners at home in the dorms. Andover had notified parents of the policy. …."

Denver Rocky Mountain News 2/16/00 Aurelio Rojas "…..Opponents of a ballot measure that would ban recognition of same-sex marriages in California began airing their first television ads Wednesday and charged that an ad by supporters featuring a teacher is misleading. Appearing at a news conference in Sacramento, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin and representatives of the two major teachers unions said most teachers in the state oppose Proposition 22. "We believe this is largely an anti-gay referendum," Eastin said. "The initiative process is being used in this case to single out a group of people for scorn. When adults play wedge politics it is most often our kids who get hurt." ….."

Denver Rocky Mountain News 2/16/00 Aurelio Rojas "….. Opponents of a ballot measure that would ban recognition of same-sex marriages in California began airing their first television ads Wednesday and charged that an ad by supporters featuring a teacher is misleading. Appearing at a news conference in Sacramento, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin and representatives of the two major teachers unions said most teachers in the state oppose Proposition 22. "We believe this is largely an anti-gay referendum," Eastin said. "The initiative process is being used in this case to single out a group of people for scorn. When adults play wedge politics it is most often our kids who get hurt." The No On 22 campaign's first two televisions ads, like the four ads released so far by opponents, encourages voters to do what is best for families. "You want the best for your children," the first ad declares, featuring a montage of pictures of children and families. "But what if your child, or the child of someone you know, turns out to be gay?" ….."

Denver Rocky Mountain News 2/15/00 Brian Weber "…..Public display of commitment welcomes debut of Denver's domestic partnership registry As a new couple in the early 1980s, John Miller and Robert Bixler hid their affection, not even holding hands in public because gay love lived mostly in the closet. On Monday, Miller and Bixler legalized their relationship on the first day of Denver's new Domestic Partnership Registry. The pair have led an open relationship for years, committed to each other as they raised three children. ….. The City Council approved the registry late last year in large part to give gay, lesbian and straight couples the chance to win insurance and other benefits enjoyed by married couples. Denver is the 36th city with a domestic partners registry. ….."

cnsnews.com 2/14/00 Lawrence Morahan "….. Dr. Laura Schlesinger, whose radio show reaches an estimated 20 million people through 500 stations in the United States and Canada, says she has received death threats for speaking out against gay marriage and describing homosexuality as a deviant sexual orientation. "Does my opposition to homosexual marriage and my advocacy of reparative therapy make me a bigot? No. But, because of my millions of radio listeners, my beliefs make me a threat to the radical goals of homosexual activists, who send me hate mail and death threats. "To my way of thinking, their well-organized campaign against my freedom of speech is rhetorical thuggery at best and religious persecution at worst," Schlesinger wrote in a recent column. Homosexual activist groups are mounting a campaign to get Schlesinger to change her tune, particularly her favorable comments on reparative therapy, a behavior modification program that challenges the thesis that homosexual behavior can't be changed. ….."

NY POST 2/15/00 Fredrick Dicker "….. WHEN Father Dennis Brennan, the longtime pastor of St. Margaret of Cortona Roman Catholic Church, goes on his weekly trip to the grocery store, he looks, well, unusual. The 5-foot 8-inch, balding, Irish-born priest wears a dark, full-length dress, an ill-fitting ladies' white wig, and a silver necklace. He also sports a lady's shoulder bag. Obviously, Brennan -- an Albany Diocese priest for 33 years, 16 of which had been spent as pastor of St. Margaret's -- isn't quite what he used to be. In fact, Brennan, 65, is in the process of making history as the first priest in America to undergo a sex-change operation. He's already listed as "Denise J. Brennan" on a newly issued New York State driver's license Parishioners in this tattered old railroad settlement five miles west of Schenectady are not exactly pleased -- nor is the bishop of Albany. That's putting it mildly. ……"

Chattanooga Free Press 2/15/00 "….. It seems that Mr. Gore was trying to convince California voters that he is stronger for allowing the killing of unborn babies through abortion than Sen. Bradley is -- while Sen. Bradley was trying to convince the voters that he is stronger for allowing the killing of unborn babies through abortion than Mr. Gore is. That wasn't their only "issue." It seems that Mr. Gore was trying to tell organizations for homosexual men and lesbian women that he is more for their "rights" than Sen. Bradley is -- while Sen. Bradley was trying to tell organizations for homosexual men and lesbian women that he is more for their "rights" than Mr. Gore is……. Did you ever think you would see the leading Democratic presidential candidates running for the White House on killing babies and promoting homosexuality? …."

World Net Daily 2/15/00 Julie Foster "….In a decision critics say will lead to a split within the Methodist church, the United Methodist Church decided not to bring charges against 67 Sacramento-area ministers for their participation in a ceremony blessing a "holy union" between two female church leaders……. The lead defendant was Rev. Don Fado of St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Sacramento, who performed the January 1999 ceremony uniting church members Ellie Charlton, 64, and Jeanne Barnett, 69. The other ministers were under investigation for attending and blessing the wedding. The ceremony was attended by 1,500 guests and a total of 92 Methodist ministers. Only 68 were named in a formal complaint because the rest were outside the jurisdiction of the California-Northern Nevada Conference…… Weeks after the ceremony, a complaint was filed in the church's judicial system alleging the 69 clergy in attendance, two of which have since died, violated the church's Book of Discipline which prohibits United Methodist clergy from marrying homosexuals. After an unprecedented three-day hearing process in which church pastors and scholars from both sides of the debate argued about homosexuality's place in the United Methodist Church and Christianity at large, church investigators decided the charges were not serious enough to merit a trial under United Methodist law. If the pastors had been convicted of breaking church law, they could have faced punishment as severe as dismissal. ….."

newsday.com via Associated Press 2/26/00 Louinn Lota "…..A group of weekly newspapers distributed free to 126,000 households and businesses has created an outcry with its refusal to publish news favorable to gay or pro-choice viewpoints. More than a dozen editorial employees of two of the papers have quit since the policy was enforced. The papers, which circulate in San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles and Atascadero, have received about 400 cancellation requests. And last week, about 100 people protested outside the San Luis Obispo County courthouse, some carrying signs that read "No Bigotry in My Town." At the same time, however, the papers have picked up 13 new advertisers because of their stand, says chief operating officer Todd Hansen. "We've received 400 e-mails this week that are just positive and supportive." ….."

Fox News 2/25/00 Jeannine Relly "….. Homophobia, sex tourism, infidelity and poverty are major factors causing a rapid spread of AIDS and increasingly infecting women in the Caribbean, international and regional health officials said Friday. Societal norms encourage homosexuals to have heterosexual relationships, and married men to have sex with other women, said experts and victims. Also, poverty is forcing men and women to prostitution, often with tourists, they said in a dramatic and uncharacteristically open discussion. They spoke at a conference organized by the U.S. National Institutes of Health that is being held simultaneously on five Caribbean islands in a high-profile effort to stir debate and awareness about the once-taboo issues of sexual promiscuity and AIDS. "It is definitely an epidemic, and in the Caribbean we have the second largest incidence in the world after Africa," said Peggy McEvoy, Team Leader for the Caribbean program for Geneva-based UNAIDS, which handles AIDS policy issues, education and research. ……"The islands with tourism are the ones that don't want to talk about it very much," McEvoy said. "There's a tremendous amount of sexual activity involved with tourism. There's a lot of fear that if tourists are aware they're not going to come." ......:"

The Washington Blade Online (Gay Magazine) 2/18/00 Rhonda Smith "…..A decision last Friday by United Methodist Church officials in California to take no punitive action against 68 ministers who gave their blessings to a same-sex marriage ceremony in early 1999 has triggered a backlash from those opposed to homosexuality. "We believe the witness and ministry of our church is being undermined by increasing disobedience to church doctrine and standards, neglect of due process, and unfair administration on the part of some bishops and district superintendents," wrote organizers of the Coalition for United Methodist Accountability. The coalition includes representatives from three evangelical Christian groups in the denomination: Good News in Wilmore, Ky., the Confessing Movement in Indianapolis, Ind., and the Institute on Religion and Democracy in Washington, D.C. . ……. The Reconciling Congregation Program is a national grassroots group of Methodist churches that publicly welcome all people, including Gays and their families. Alexander said it currently represents 164 reconciling congregations and 15,000 individual Methodists who identify as reconciling. This debate over homosexuality is expected to be one of the prevailing issues when United Methodist Church leaders from across the country gather May 2-12 in Cleveland for the 8.5 million-member denomination's General Conference. …."

EWTN 2/16/00 "…..Father Richard Welch of Human Life International, called to task talk show Host Oprah Winfrey for allowing herself to be used to promote condoms, the pill, abortion, and sex education this week. Jane Fonda and her now-separated husband Ted Turner, persuaded the superstar to speak at Fonda's 5th annual conference of G-CAPP, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention. The "Lunch With Oprah," held Monday, 14 February, at the CNN Center, was sold out. Her mere presence, moreover, gave much clout to G-CAPP, which promotes nearly everything from explicit sex ed for kindergartners to homosexual families. "It's sad and disgraceful that one of America's most popular TV stars would, by her presence, lend credibility to the sexually libertine and sexually suicidal agenda of Jane Fonda and Ted Turner," said Fr. Richard Welch, president of Human Life International. "It is scandalous that her fame is used to advance practices and policies of sexual behavior, abortion and the destruction of the family that are a virtual program of genocide against African-Americans." …."

Detroit Free Press 2/23/00 Bill Laitner "….. By a slim margin, Ferndale voters rejected a hotly contested human rights ordinance that would have banned discrimination against gays and other residents. The vote was 2,406 to 2,289 in unofficial returns Tuesday night…….. The ordinance would have forbidden discrimination on the basis of race, religion, disability and other grounds, but it was the sexual-orientation category that raised the hackles of opponents. Yet, protecting gays and lesbians became a cause celebre for the ordinance's supporters, including Mayor Chuck Goedert and the entire City Council. "We're really, really disappointed," said Councilman Craig Covey, the city's first openly gay council member, elected last fall. "We had to deal with last-minute issues raised by outsiders. We'll probably take a breather and work on it again in a couple of years," Covey said. ….."

AP 2/21/00 "……About 30 political yard signs reading "Protect Marriage' were burned in a Mormon church parking lot in Pleasanton early Saturday morning, in apparent protest of Proposition 22, the March 7 measure that would ban gay marriage. Police said the signs were reported burning by neighbors at 1:45 a.m. at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The signs were burned in a small bonfire along with other pieces of wood. The church was not damaged. Investigators have no suspects in the case and are soliciting information from neighbors and residents who may have seen anything. They suspect that the signs were stolen recently from yards in various subdivisions in Pleasanton. Police are investigating the sign burnings as an interference of civil rights, which is a felony……"

World Net Daily 2/18/00 Julie Foster "…..A Washington state appeals court reversed a decision that had allowed a man's homosexual partner to inherit virtually his entire $230,000 estate in a ruling homosexual rights activists call "ironic." After sharing Robert Schwerzler's house, business and financial assets for 28 years, Frank Vasquez must relinquish the estate to Schwerzler's four siblings, two of which formally opposed Vasquez after their brother's death in 1995 at the age of 78. The state's community property law applies only to heterosexuals, the Washington State Court of Appeals Division II ruled. "We find no precedent for applying the marital concepts, either rights or protections, to same-sex relationships," Appeals Court Judge C.J. Bridgewater wrote in the 3-0 decision issued last Friday. Extending marital inheritance laws to homosexuals "is for the Legislature to decide, not the courts," Bridgewater wrote. ….."

WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. 2/28/00 Jon Dougherty "…..Two men indicted in the torturous rape-murder of 14-year-old Jesse Dirkhising last fall have requested a change of venue from Benton County, Arkansas, because of the publicity the case has received locally. …… Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against both Brown and Carpenter. The case generated national attention after WorldNetDaily editor Joseph Farah first reported it nationally last October. Farah made the case that other national news media opted to neglect the story because it involved a politically incorrect theme -- a heinous crime involving the rape and murder of a teenage boy by two homosexuals…….. Farah's criticism eventually caught the eye of E. R. Shipp, ombudsman for the Washington Post. In a Nov. 14, 1999 editorial, Shipp defended the paper's lack of extended coverage of the Dirkhising murder because the Post's "policy is not to cover murders from out of the Washington area at all unless it's a case of mass murder or has caused a large local sensation or has raised a larger social issue." "The Shepard story was news," Shipp said, "because it prompted debate on hate crimes and the degree to which there is still intolerance of gay people in this country. It was much more than a murder story for us." ......... "

LA Times 2/29/00 Elaine Gail "….. It's not unusual in an election year to find campaign fliers tucked under windshield wipers after Sunday church services in Orange County--the sprawling parking lots are an easy target for organizers. But a controversial state initiative that would ban same-sex marriage has driven political campaigning at local churches to a new level. In pulpits and parking lots, Proposition 22 has activated and polarized Orange County churches like few other initiatives in recent years, religious leaders say. The March 7 ballot measure has "been a bigger deal than any of the other propositions this time around," said Pastor Dave Rolph of the Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, a congregation of 25,000. "People in the church feel very strongly about it." The initiative declares that only marriages between men and women are valid. This would prohibit the state from recognizing same-sex marriages granted by other states, though currently no state allows them. It drew early support from leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, evangelical Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But three Southern California bishops--Episcopal, Lutheran and Methodist--issued a joint statement opposing the measure, which they said could lead to discrimination. ….."

San Fransisco Examiner 2/28/00 Carol Ness "….. Californians' support for Proposition 22 is unwavering, with just one week left before voters decide the controversial initiative to bar legal recognition of gay marriages, according to the latest Examiner/ KTVU poll. Of 650 likely voters surveyed last week, 55 percent favor the initiative, 38 percent oppose it and 7 percent are undecided. The results are consistent with every poll published since October. All have shown that the measure is supported by slightly more than half the state's voters...."

Electronic Telegraph 3/3/00 Philip Delves Broughton "… HILLARY CLINTON will accompany Irish gay men and lesbians in an alternative St Patrick's Day parade in New York on Sunday, outraging the city's conservative Irish who regard the event as an affront. The decision is a sign that Mrs Clinton's campaign to be elected New York Senator is loosening up. Before her announcement of her candidacy last month, and immediately afterwards, her campaign was stiff, even glacial. She will march in support of the Irish Gay and Lesbian Organisation, which is not allowed in the main parade on Fifth Avenue...."

www.livealtavista.com 3/1/00 Beth Harpaz AP "…..Hillary Rodham Clinton will march in an alternative St. Patrick's Day parade this weekend that will include gay organizations, her spokesman said Wednesday. The sponsor of the main March 17 St. Patrick's day parade up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan -- the Ancient Order of Hibernians -- has for years refused to allow the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization, also known as ILGO, to march under its own banner. Clinton, who is running for the Senate from New York, will march in this weekend's parade in Queeens, said campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson. ..."

World Net Daily 3/3/00 Julie Foster "…..Several churches on California's central coast have been told by their county tax assessor's office they are breaking the law by displaying pro-Proposition 22 signs on church property, prompting a press conference yesterday during which attorneys pointed to tax laws specifically permitting the practice. To be voted on this Tuesday, Proposition 22, also known as the "Defense of Marriage Act" consists of 14 words: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." The initiative has received nationwide attention and has already been adopted in 31 states. ......"

AP 3/4/00 Sonya Ross "….President Clinton is urging voters in California to reject a ban on gay marriages, saying it is unnecessary because no state currently honors such unions. Addressing a Democratic fund-raiser in San Francisco on Friday night, the president said Proposition 22, which would bar California from recognizing same-sex marriages should they become legal in any other state, would have ``no practical effect whatever'' except to divert attention from other, more serious issues..."

THE FEDERALIST DIGEST 2/25/00 "….."True tolerance is not a total lack of judgment. It's knowing what should be tolerated -- and refusing to tolerate that which shouldn't." --Charles Colson The shifting paradigm of sexual morality is a source of much controversy. Homosexuals, though less than 3% of the population (USCDC), are at the center of this controversy. The conflict is posed as a contest between the civil rights of consenting adults and the Judeo-Christian foundation of the American family and society. The issue has even necessitated congressional legislation defining "marriage." Religious denominations are also debating the "normalization" of homosexual practices, same-sex marriage and the ordination of practicing homosexuals. To discuss this issue meaningfully, it is necessary to dispel a false dichotomy, which has infiltrated our dialogue. Homosexual advocacy groups often rebut dissenters by claiming they are pharisaical, intolerant and "homophobic." But disagreement with homosexual advocacy has no correlation with one's capacity to love or have compassion for others. Nor is dissent related to judgment, which is God's alone. Rather, it is about discernment between right and wrong, and obedience to objective truth rather than the cult of subjective relativism popularly justified under the contemporary aegis of "tolerance" and "diversity." ......"

L A Times 2/28/00 David Coolidge "…. Californians are playing out a drama whose outcome will be applauded and reviled from coast to coast. By the end of the day March 7, Proposition 22--which states that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California"--will be either law or history. If it wins, some people will claim this is the beginning of the end for gay rights. If it loses, other people will claim this is the beginning of the end for marriage. Could both sides be wrong? Proposition 22 is actually quite modest. It will not repeal any gay rights laws in California. All it does is allow voters to reaffirm the definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman and try to prevent the meaning of marriage from being decided by the courts. ….."

The Washington Times 2/28/00 Robert Knight "…..Does this statement sound like tolerance to you? "We're going to go after the media outlets, the radio stations that run her, and get her off." So spoke Cathy Renna of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) of radio talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger, at a homosexual activist conference held last October. Dr. Laura had enraged homosexual activists by opposing their "born-that-way-and-can't-change" myth and their drive to radically redefine marriage. Unable to "get" Dr. Laura, whose listening audience is estimated at 18 million, GLAAD did the next best thing by hounding Paramount Television, which is planning to launch Dr. Laura's new TV show this fall. Last week, GLAAD cheerfully announced what it regards as a partial victory. While Dr. Laura will have her show, the format will ensure that she include viewpoints contrary to her traditional views of sexual morality. …… Fortunately, Dr. Laura can demolish the average liberal activist in about the time it takes to peel a banana. But when was the last time a successful talk show host was required to "open" a show to opposing viewpoints at the behest of a special interest group? Did Oprah Winfrey ever have to "balance" her left-leaning show? ….."

Family Research Council 2/25/00 "……By land, air, and the Internet, more than 200,000 race fans at Daytona International Speedway got the message during last Sunday's Daytona 500 that Budweiser promotes homosexuality. Thirty minutes before the race, when virtually all race fans were already present in the stands and infield, a plane towed a banner overhead that read "BUD: STOP BACKING THE GAY AGENDA - GAYBEER.COM." The brainchild of Joe Glover, a self-described former good ol' boy NASCAR fan who heads the Family Policy Network in Forest, Va., the Daytona Bud effort was the campaign's second stop on the NASCAR circuit. "At Daytona, the plane was crisscrossing with the Budweiser blimp," said Glover. ….."

The Washington Times 3/10/00 R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. "……The First Amendment's freedom-of-speech clause has come to sanction such arty stuff as feces on canvas, but not public disagreement with various inflamed groups - for instance, with militant homosexuals. How very odd. Artists such as Chris Ofili are defended unto death for putting elephant manure on an otherwise pedestrian painting of the Virgin Mary. Viacom's Paramount Television Group is being importuned by militant homosexuals to drop Dr. Laura Schlessinger's television program from its fall offerings. Neither conservative writers nor liberals are heard to complain. The American Civil Liberties Union is degage. No one complains on behalf of the First Amendment. Dr. Schlessinger's nationally syndicated radio program has 20 million people (40 million ears) freely listening every week. Paramount reports that it has sold her television program to more than 160 markets, covering 90 percent of the country, for broadcast this fall. All these listeners presumably find Dr. Schlessinger interesting - she is no far-out extremist. On her radio show and in four best-selling books purchased by more than 3 million readers, she dispenses her views on traditional morality. Among those is the idea that homosexuals are "as entitled to love and respect as all human beings," but their sex lives are out of synch with Scripture. She opposes state marriage licenses for "homosexual marriage." She thinks homosexual sex is as immoral as adultery and the playboy lifestyle. Some militant homosexual groups find those sentiments alarming. They would exempt Dr. Laura, and presumably Paramount, from the protections of the First Amendment. By associating her views with hate, they rationalize excluding her from television. Of course, the hateful and overwrought things that they say about her in public protests and on their Web sites do not strike them as expressions of hate. Hate apparently is a defect found in others, for instance people who disagree with them. One of the Web sites opposing Dr. Schlessinger calls itself a "Coalition Against Hate." Actually it is a Coalition Against Disagreement. Once again we see the politically motivated engaged in an Orwellian twist of plain language……"

World Magazine 3/10/00 Lynn Vincent "…..The night before Super Tuesday, whirling spotlights streaked the sky over a strip mall tucked in an obscure corner of Hillcrest, San Diego's gay district. About three dozen homosexuals had turned out to rally against Proposition 22, the California ballot initiative intended to prevent state recognition of homosexual marriage. Motorists honked obligingly for activists who stood on the sidewalk waving signs that read: "No on 22! Protect Families!" But oddly, no families were present. Instead, several grunge-garbed, college-age stumpers called out to passersby, a man in a blond wig and candy-apple red evening dress fiddled with his silver purse, and two young lesbians reveled in a public kiss. But they will not be reveling in legal marriage anytime soon. Golden State voters overwhelmingly approved Prop 22, a 14-word amendment to the state constitution that reads, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is recognized or valid in California." The initiative, which homosexual activists claimed would strip gays and lesbians of civil rights, passed 61 percent to 39 percent. "Pro-family voters of all races and political stripes have voted to tell homosexual activists to stop attacking the sacred institution of marriage," said Randy Thomasson, executive director of Sacramento-based Campaign for California Families, which supported the measure. ……"

AP 3/10/00 David Bauder "…..Radio talk show host Laura Schlessinger, under fire for referring to homosexuality as "deviant" behavior, said Friday that she's sorry her comments have hurt some people. In recent weeks, gay rights activists have started a campaign to try to stop television stations from broadcasting Schlessinger's "Dr. Laura" talk show, which is scheduled to debut in September. On her popular radio show where she dispenses relationship advice, Schlessinger has also referred to homosexuality as a "biological error." "Regrettably, some of the words I've used have hurt some people, and I am sorry for that," she said. "Words that I have used in a clinical context have been perceived as judgment. They were not meant to characterize homosexual individuals or encourage others to disparage homosexuals. "I regularly remind my listeners that we are all made in God's image and, therefore, we should treat one another with love and kindness, irrespective of one's faith," she said. ……"

American Family Association 3/10/00 "……This fall marked a change in the way already "gay"-friendly AT&T promotes the homosexual agenda. For the first time, the communications giant was directly targeting school children with the message that "gay is O.K." According to the company's website, AT&T Broadband & Internet Services (BIS) partnered with the National Middle School Association (NMSA), the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, and liberal groups like the Anti-Defamation League to distribute a diversity program to middle schools nationwide. Entitled Opening the Door to Diversity: Voices from the Middle School, the combination video and discussion guide program was created by AT&T BIS, and is intended to instruct teachers how they can teach diversity in the classroom. AT&T's website said every middle school in the U.S. received five free copies of the lesson plans. In the wake of the murder of homosexual college student Matthew Shepard in Wyoming, AT&T decided that "it should respond to the bigotry that gave rise to Shepard's death," according to the company's website. ….."

Reagan Information Exchange 3/9/00 Susan Roylance "……The United States is leading an effort to convert the United Nations' Beijing Platform for Action - which is aimed at eliminating discrimination against women - into a document which champions homosexual rights. Specifically, the United States is attempting to insert language calling for an end to discrimination based on "sexual orientation" into the document which will be approved by the United Nations General Assembly as the product of the five-year review of Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995 ….. The citizenry of the United States does not support the gay rights agenda. Congress has refused to make "sexual orientation" a protected category. State after state is overwhelmingly rejecting "gay marriage." Despite efforts by Western nations to make homosexuality a "human rights" issue, it is not. It is a matter of culture, religion, morality and domestic governance. The United States has absolutely no right, and certainly no popular mandate, to attempt to force the gay rights agenda on other nations. ......"

EWTN Website 3/7/00 "…..The Michigan chapter of the American Family Association said on Friday it had filed a complaint with Ferndale police alleging a violation of a hate-crimes law by a city councilor. The group said Councilman Craig Covey, a self-proclaimed homosexual, used hate speech to demonize Christian citizens and threatened to "drive another dagger into that vampire." Covey's comments were published in two recent issues of a Michigan newspaper for homosexuals, Between the Lines. The newspaper quoted him as saying: "This vote shows that the Christian Right is down but not out yet. We might have to drive another dagger into that vampire." ….."

American Family Association 3/9/00 "…..Two national pro-family organizations joined forces here to educate race fans about a race sponsor's ongoing promotion of homosexuality throughout North America. "Budweiser no doubt 'felt the heat' on their day in the sun as a national sponsor of the Daytona 500," said Joe Glover, President of Family Policy Network. Glover hired an airplane to fly a banner over 260,000 fans who gathered to watch the race. The banner behind the plane read, "BUD: STOP PROMOTING THE GAY AGENDA - GAYBEER.COM." Thousands of flyers documenting Anheuser-Busch's misguided campaign were distributed to fans, and signs which read, "BOYCOTT BUD - BUSCH - MICHELOB; THEY PROMOTE HOMOSEXUALITY. DO YOU?" were placed throughout the city. The www.gaybeer.com web site referenced by the airplane banner is a creation of Family Policy Network. It contains details of Anheuser-Busch's pro-homosexual activities - including pictures from Bud-sponsored homosexual "pride" parades, Bud Light's homosexual magazine advertisements, and details of Budweiser's sponsorship of a sadomasochism festival in California. ….."

The Record 3/8/00 Charles Austin "……Nobody favors sin. But nobody agrees precisely on what it is. So as Christians begin the season of Lent today with Ash Wednesday and are called upon to repent, they might also wonder exactly what they should be sorry for. The basic "checklist" of sins -- the Ten Commandments -- still stands for most people, who generally agree that it's wrong to cheat, steal, lie, or murder. But although many conservative Christians include on their list of sins such things as premarital sex, abortion, homosexuality, and divorce, a growing number of Christians disagree with those views. In fact, recent Gallup research shows that 58 percent of American Catholics believe the church should relax its position on the sinfulness of abortion and 47 percent believe that homosexuals can be good Catholics. The Barna research organization of Ventura, Calif., reported this year that about one-fifth of the adult population believes "the whole idea of sin is outdated." ……… "It is a sign of the times that people want to feel good about themselves and not face their sins," said Roman Catholic Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick of Newark, adding that the ethical revolution of the 1960s changed the concept of what is right and wrong for many people……"

USA Today 3/9/00 Andrea Stone "…..A small but growing number of military commanders are ignoring the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals and quietly refusing to discharge openly gay troops, a report by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network says. The advocacy group says it knows of 26 people who in the last two years admitted they were gay in order to escape harassment but were allowed to remain in the military, despite the 6-year-old policy that says those who "tell" must be discharged. In 1998, eight came out but were allowed, for often unclear reasons, to stay in. There were another 18 cases last year. Most were in the Navy. Ten of the people are still in uniform: five Army officers, one Navy officer and four enlisted sailors. As trends go, this one is barely perceptible - just 1% of the number of gay discharges in those two years. But it is significant. For at a time when the military is struggling to recruit and retain qualified people, it might indicate that some leaders will look the other way to retain an experienced person, even if he or she is gay. It also might indicate a growing tolerance in the military……"

The New York Times 3/9/00 Julian Barnes "……Two billboards on Staten Island that angered civic and gay leaders by using a Biblical verse to condemn homosexuality were covered up yesterday, just as the identity of the man responsible for the messages was revealed. The man, the Rev. Kristopher Okwedy of Keyword Ministries in Staten Island, said he had paid $1,800 to post the two signs for one month. The signs, in the St. George and Port Richmond neighborhoods, cited four translations of Leviticus 18:22. One read, "Thou shall not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is abomination." The messages disappeared a day after they were denounced by the Staten Island borough president, Guy V. Molinari, and local gay leaders. Yesterday, the signs were covered with images of McGruff the Crime Dog and Smokey Bear. ……. "This is the land of the free, home of the brave," he said. "You are supposed to protect the rights of free speech. I paid money and did not violate any city laws." ……"

AP 3/8/00 "……The city suspended all Gazette newspaper and San Luis Obispo Magazine advertising until the owners explain a news coverage prohibition against promotion of gay or pro-choice viewpoints. The City Council voted 4-1 on Tuesday to halt ads in publications owned by David and Mary Weyrich, and three council members -- Jan Howell Marx, John Ewan and Ken Schwartz -- said they would stop contributing articles. The vote was largely symbolic because the city isn't a major advertiser in the publications. But it underscores the deep community divisions created when the Weyrichs announced Feb. 24 that they would tailor some aspects of their news coverage around personal religious beliefs. ….."

Associated Press 3/9/00 David Briscoe "…..Anti-homosexual abuse in the armed services has more than doubled in the past year, despite the addition by the Pentagon of "don't harass" to its "don't ask, don't tell" policy, a lawyers group that defends gays in the military said today. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network reported 968 incidents, including a murder, assaults and verbal gay-bashing. The group of lawyers, which annually has reported on military harassment against gays for six years, says the problem is worse than ever, with a record percentage of women discharged for being gay last year in what it called a spate of "lesbian baiting." A Pentagon spokesman said the services investigate all allegations of harassment and officials do not believe it has increased. While declining to comment specifically on a report officers have not yet seen, spokesman Bryan Whitman pointed out that discharges for homosexuality decreased last year by 10 percent after several years of increase. ……"We do not believe there is growing anti-gay harassment in the military," Whitman said. The military last year issued guidance to ensure that "everyone from the newest recruit to flag officers, understands the policy and the law," he said. …."

AP via Contra Costa Times 3/7/00 "…..Some gays and lesbians plan to protest the national census this month by writing in their own demographic category on survey forms. "We're talking about the ultimate undercount. You are not even on the list," said Gwen Baldwin, executive director of the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center. The national census, which is conducted every 10 years, employs 63 categories to provide a detailed picture of the country's racial and ethnic makeup. The planned protest will not offer any new details on the gay population, since unsolicited responses will not be recognized. …..Census experts said there is no legal justification to count gays and lesbians because their numbers are not tied to legal questions. The census, for example, provides racial information that is used to enforce the Federal Voting Rights Act. ….."

Enter Stage Right - A Journal of Modern Conservatism 3/6/00 Charles Morse "…… Marxist theoretician and African nationalist Frans Fannon, in the early 20th century, developed the idea that race conflict equals class conflict as a means of birthing world socialism. The left has subsequently developed "race consciousness" to further conflict between the races. The desired result is an empowered state which, acting as a white knight, steps in to save the citizenry from the planned anarchy. Race has been exploited with a measure of success in America by the left and this has poisoned the well of genuine civil rights in the process. Our Achilles heal is our race problems. The left exploits this by fanning the flames of racism. Setting one race against another proved so successful to the left that they have further defined categories in which to exploit conflict. These include ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and others. Their solution, although rarely articulated, is stronger and more invasive government i.e. socialism. Several ancillary goals are achieved as well on their road to utopia……… "

CNSnews.com 3/6/00 Charles Colson "…..At the University of Massachusetts last month, a coed told police that a man had grabbed her from behind, slashed her face with a knife, and then ran away. At Duke University, in North Carolina, a black doll was found hanging from a tree near a gathering place for the Black Student Alliance. At North Carolina's Guilford College, a white student said she'd been assaulted by men who scrawled a message on her chest -- one that suggested, to put it mildly, that she was too friendly with blacks. And at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, a lesbian coed told police that two men had punched her in the face while shouting anti-gay slurs. These stories are truly awful. But there's just one problem: They're all a pack of lies. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that every one of the students made up the supposed incidents, apparently for political reasons….."

EWTN 3/7/00 "……The Michigan chapter of the American Family Association said on Friday it had filed a complaint with Ferndale police alleging a violation of a hate-crimes law by a city councilor. The group said Councilman Craig Covey, a self-proclaimed homosexual, used hate speech to demonize Christian citizens and threatened to "drive another dagger into that vampire." Covey's comments were published in two recent issues of a Michigan newspaper for homosexuals, Between the Lines. The newspaper quoted him as saying: "This vote shows that the Christian Right is down but not out yet. We might have to drive another dagger into that vampire." …… The police complaint alleged Covey violated the state's Ethnic Intimidation Act which declares it a felony to "maliciously, and with specific intent to intimidate or harass a person because of that person's ... religion, ... to threaten, by word ... to cause physical contact with another person ... or ... damage, destroy, or deface any real or personal property of another person." ….."

Associated Press 3/8/00 Larry McShane "….Anti-gay billboards posted for five days were taken down Wednesday after they were condemned as hateful and divisive. The two billboards on Staten Island quoted a Biblical passage: "Thou shall not lie with mankind as with womankind: It is abomination." One billboard was replaced by a Smokey the Bear ad and the second was covered over in white. The billboards went up Friday in the city's smallest borough. Billboard company PNE Media of Union, N.J., said in a statement it removed the ads because they were "inadvertently posted." The company requires that its billboards contain the name of the advertiser; the anti-gay ads did not. The ads were placed by a group called Keyword Ministries, PNE Media said. There was no phone listing for the Keyword Ministries or its pastor, Kristopher Okwedy. PNE lawyer Donald Rosenthal said the message on the 8-foot-by-16-foot billboards did not represent the company's views. The borough president, Guy Molinari, and gay advocates objected to the billboards. "People may be expressing their religious beliefs, but they don't understand that these messages fan the fires of prejudice and hatred," Molinari said. "I'm terribly distressed." …."

EWTN 3/8/00 "…..An Italian homosexual activist group today called for the Vatican to include homosexuals among the groups which the Catholic Church will acknowledge have suffered by a failure of Christians to live up to their faith. While many observers have mistakenly characterized the new Vatican document, Memory and Reconciliation: The Church and the Faults of the Past, as an apology by the Church to others, Catholic leaders have pointed out that the document and a reconciliation service on March 12 will ask pardon from God for the failures of Christians which led to evil. ..."

AP 3/8/00 Bob Egelko "….. Californians rejected gay marriage Tuesday, approving a ballot measure that prohibits the state from recognizing same-sex marriages legally performed in any other state.With 41 percent of precincts reporting, 1,814,640 voters, or 63 percent, had supported Proposition 22, while 1,059,312 voters, or 37 percent, were opposed.Exit polls conducted by Voter News Service for The Associated Press and TV networks showed Proposition 22 got strong support from men and women and from voters of all races and income groups...."

San Francisco Chronicle 3/4/00 Elaine Herscher "…..A San Francisco group's protest against radio talk-show host Laura Schlessinger for her view of homosexuality as deviant has picked up national steam. Within two days of its inception on Wednesday, a Web site called Stop Dr. Laura had surpassed 1 million visits. The site encourages people to flood Paramount, producers of Schlessinger's planned television talk show, with complaints about giving her a wider forum...."

Newsday.com 3/5/00 Beth Harpaz AP "…..Amid boos and cheers, Hillary Rodham Clinton marched in an early St. Patrick's Day parade in Queens on Sunday. With a green scarf tucked into her jacket, the first lady smiled, waved, and posed for pictures as she marched seven blocks along the parade route in Woodside. Asked if she was enjoying herself, she said: ''I sure am. How could you not? It's a glorious day with a lot of happy people.'' A group of hecklers followed her, but she ignored them and the occasional boos from others in the crowd of several thousand people scattered along the parade route. ''Go back to Arkansas, carpetbagger!'' called out Bernie Mulligan of Queens, who works for a cable TV company. ''She's too liberal. But I like everything about the mayor. I think he's a straight-shooter.'' ….."

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 3/5/00 Eloise Anderson Ben Boychuk "….The debate over same-sex marriage isn't about whether two people love each other. The real issue is the future and welfare of children. Recently, America has taken great strides toward recognizing the essential role of fathers and strong families in raising and educating the next generation. We cannot forget these hard-won lessons now. Marriage used to be a term reserved for a committed relationship between a man and woman. But for many Americans this definition is now outmoded, sectarian, patriarchal and bigoted. It hints at an all-too-narrow and cramped notion of American life - something like the subtle condemnation of family life in the film ``American Beauty.'' Marriage and family on this view is an ideal that limits and distorts personal freedom and individuality, rather than protecting hopes and dreams. Are the supporters of same-sex marriage right? Is the notion of a father and a mother just an irrelevant variable in the upbringing of kids? ……. ``If we were asked to design a system for making sure that children's basic needs were met, we would probably come up with something quite similar to the two-parent ideal,'' write Princeton sociologists Sara McLanahan and Gary Sandefur. ``Such a design, in theory, would not only ensure that children had access to the time and money of two adults, it also would provide a system of checks and balances that promoted quality parenting.'' Fathers help enforce self-control and discipline for boys. Loving fathers also help instill confidence in their daughters and impart a sense of how men should treat them. Mothers help socialize children and teach softer virtues such as compassion and respect. ……"

AP 3/5/00 Larry McShane "…..The Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization wanted to march up Fifth Avenue in the annual St. Patrick Day Parade - again. Parade organizers refused them a permit - again. The gay activists went to court and lost - again, the eighth straight year of failed efforts to infiltrate the nation's oldest and largest celebration of Irishness. Undaunted, the ILGO members have already vowed to try again next year - but only after protesting (again), by flooding Fifth Avenue with some 2,000 demonstrators March 17. There may be peace in Northern Ireland before this Manhattan battle is resolved……"

Newsweek 3/12/00 "……Even as tolerance seems to be on the increase, gays have learned they've got a new nemesis: the harsh-tongued talk-radio oracle Dr. Laura Schlessinger, 53, who's surpassed Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh as most-listened-to personality on the air. Her anti-gay remarks on air were well known in the gay community, but when she landed an upcoming TV show, protests ignited. She backed off a little last week, but nobody thinks the trouble's over. Several years ago Schlessinger had a reputation for being tolerant of homosexuality, but she's since embraced Orthodox Judaism and moved farther to the sociocultural right. She's trashed feminists ("They nauseate and sicken me") and mixed ("interfaithless") marriages. In a November broadcast, she savaged-by name-a Connecticut eighth grader for an award-winning essay in favor of free speech on the Internet: "If she was my daughter, I'd probably put her up for adoption... When she makes her marriage vows and her husband has sex with everybody else, let's see if she thinks that this philosophy works." She also suggested the girl be "sacrificed," Inca style. ...,:

NY Post 3/12/00 Rod Dreher "……DOES free speech have any place on Staten Island? Not if you believe in the Old Testament -- which is to say, the Hebrew Bible -- or adhere to Islam or any other religious faith that prohibits homosexuality. On Staten Island, they expect you to shut your trap, or else stand accused of being a hateful bigot. In fact, gay leaders, civic officials and businessmen will shut your trap for you, all in the name of tolerance. The same crowd that lectures you to be forbearing when a public art museum desecrates an image of the Virgin Mary will tell you you have no moral right to quote from your own holy scripture in public. So learned the Rev. Kristopher Okwedy last week, when he rented space on two Staten Island billboards to post a Bible verse, Leviticus 18:22, which reads, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is abomination."……… A supporter suggested he contact the American Civil Liberties Union to fight the billboard company in court. Okwedy thinks that's futile. "I don't think the ACLU is for Christians," he sighed. Okwedy has obviously learned a lot in his 10 years in America. He has surely observed how quick gay activists are to employ the word "hate" to impugn the motives of those who disagree with them and to discredit their opponents' actions……."

Media Research Center 3/16/00 L Brent Bozell "……Here are two rules of civility in politics. One, conservatives are not allowed to question the motivations or crocodile-tear strategies of liberals. Two, because the true visionaries in the Manhattan media elite have a more heightened sense of society's needs, they can say anything they want about those distasteful people who stand in the way of enlightened progress. If you doubt me, I offer a perfect example: the media's coverage of the Clinton-NRA gunfight. You can hear the anger in those scandalized media voices: doesn't Wayne LaPierre know the rules?…. For years, the NRA has been trying to tell any reporter who would ask that the Clinton administration is two-faced. As the administration campaigns for ever more federal gun laws -- soliciting the soccer moms with feel-your-pain fakery -- the actual laws on the books, even the laws they campaigned to pass in their first term, go unenforced. "Of the drug dealers and the violent felons and the gangs roaming our streets, when they're caught illegally carrying guns, the President has prosecuted only two in Washington D.C., 14 in New Jersey, 20 in Atlanta," LaPierre explained to NBC on March 14……"

Media Research Center 3/16/00 L Brent Bozell "……If that's true, certainly it shows Clinton has failed to enforce the laws of the land, and that failure ought to be a pivotal component of any discussion on crime. But reporters and anchors on the four biggest networks have brought it up only eight times in two years. So now, LaPierre inflates his rhetoric just to get his point made, and still most TV news stars remain fixated on poor Bill while continuing to avoid the inconvenient facts of lax prosecution. Of course, it was Bill Clinton who regained momentum with liberals in the media after the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress by blaming the Oklahoma City bombing on "voices of hate and division" on talk radio stations, not to mention every conservative who's suspicious of government power. Network reporters gleefully noted Timothy McVeigh's (lapsed) membership in the NRA without reservation. This tactic isn't new, nor is it contained to gun-rights advocates. For years, the media have proclaimed that if you have been so impolite as to state publicly that abortion is murder, you are complicit in the shooting of abortionists. The press has endorsed the view that if you believe homosexuality is a sin, you encourage a climate of violence against homosexuals……"

Boston Herald 3/15/00 Don Feder "…… While Californians spoke out against same-sex marriage last week, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation continued its campaign to suppress the free-speech rights of Dr. Laura Schlessinger. By portraying homosexuals as a persecuted minority, the gay-rights movement has succeeded in manipulating elites - politicians, media and the judiciary. With ordinary (non-angst driven) individuals, the approach is a dismal failure. The movement's campaign against Proposition 22 - a constitutional amendment providing ``only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California'' - is the latest in a string of popular defeats stretching from Maine to Hawaii. California's entire establishment was arrayed against Prop. 22 - from Democratic Gov. Gray Davis to GOP Senate candidate Tom Campbell. (Vice President Al Gore called it ``mean-spirited.'') Newspaper editorials denounced it. In TV spots, sitcom stars inveighed against it. ……"

Associated Press 3/11/00 Jennifer Bundy "……The West Virginia Legislature voted Saturday to ban homosexual marriages and prohibit the state from recognizing such marriages performed in other states. On the last day of the 60-day legislative session, the House approved the measure 96-3 and sent it to the governor for his signature. The Senate previously passed it unanimously. Gov. Cecil Underwood introduced the ban, so his agreement is expected. "We were concerned we didn't have a statute. We could be forced into recognizing same-sex marriages from other states,'' Underwood said. ….."

The Firm Foundation & The Word is Out: Daily Reflections on the Bible for Lesbians and Gay Men 3/00 "……Chris Glaser's new book is The Word is Out: Daily Reflections on the Bible for Lesbians and Gay Men (Westminster/John Knox). In the daily Bible readings and accompanying reflections, the book does not hesitate to take on the tough ones…….. But the artfulness of the book is perhaps best caught in the meditation for August 22, which provides helpful insight into the approach of the gay Christian movement. Here it is in its entirety: For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged the natural intercourse for the unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another (Romans 1:26-27) [NIV]….. Paul associated the phenomenon with idolatry. How then do we account for Christians who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual? Clearly, Paul is wrong. Reason and experience (and science their product) contradict his understanding. Ironically, Paul's own teaching contradicts his judgement. His letter to the Romans is devoted to the principle that we are not made holy by conformity, but by faith in Jesus Christ. We cannot be saved by behaving heterosexually, only by following Christ. Christ Jesus, give us the faith to follow you, rather than the idolatrous god of heterosexuality. ….."

Charisma News 3/15/00 "…….As campaigners against same-sex marriages in California celebrate a major victory, a pro-family leader in Michigan has accused a prominent gay activist of a hate crime against Christians. Strongly backed by church groups and Christian organizations, Proposition 22--ensuring that homosexual unions recognized outside California do not have to be accepted by the state--was approved yesterday by a 32 percent margin. The result of the ballot--singled out by Focus on the Family President James Dobson as having national significance--means that California joins 30 other states and the federal government with laws denying the recognition of same-sex marriages ……."

CBS Marketwatch 3/18/00 Martha Irvine "…… United Airlines, eager to mend a rift caused by a two-year boycott that ended last summer when it agreed to offer domestic partner benefits, is trying to become the "official airline" of gay men and lesbians. "Without a doubt, that's definitely the goal," said Mario Baldessari, co-director of United's marketing effort to reach gays. In doing so, United hopes to overtake American Airlines, which many consider the airline of choice among gays. …..The marketing effort, which includes an ad campaign launched in gay newspapers late last year, has as much to do with business as with public relations. ….."

The Associated Press 3/13/00 David Bauder "…..Enmeshed in a bitter battle with gay rights activists, radio talk show host Laura Schlessinger is about to find out whether the show biz adage about any publicity being good publicity is really true. The tough-talking "Dr. Laura," who dispenses relationship advice on her enormously popular radio show, is being criticized for calling homosexuality a "biological error" and "deviant." Gays and lesbians upset about her comments have targeted the "Dr. Laura" television show that begins this fall. The anti-Laura campaign is aimed at convincing her syndicators, Paramount, not to distribute the TV show and stations not to broadcast it. Some in the television business suspect the effort may backfire. "At this point, I don't think it has had any effect except to make the general public aware that she is doing a television talk show, which they might not have been ... if this hadn't been in the headlines," said Bill Carroll, an expert on TV syndication for the Katz Television Group. …."

U.S. News and World Report 3/20/00 John Leo "…..Watch what you say The left can no longer be counted on to defend free speech…... Take the homosexual campaign to cancel Dr. Laura Schlessinger's forthcoming TV show, due in the fall from Paramount. As an Orthodox Jew, Dr. Laura believes in the scriptural ban on homosexuality that Jews and Christians have held for centuries. Gays are "entitled to respect and kindness as fellow human beings," she says, but she thinks homosexual sex is deviant behavior, the result of a biological error that interferes with the normal instinct to be attracted to the opposite sex. She believes marriage is a sacred contract between a man and a woman, and she thinks children are entitled to one mother and one father, not two mothers or two fathers. ……… These views offend many homosexuals, but do they amount to dangerous hate speech, worthy of suppression? One gay Web site calls Dr. Laura "The Queen of Hate Radio."……. John Aravosis, an Internet consultant and gay activist, asked Paramount to kill Dr. Laura's TV show by adopting a "zero tolerance philosophy" toward all hateful expression. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) denies it is trying to censor Dr. Laura, but it too has endorsed "zero tolerance for defamation" and asked supporters to contact TV stations to "register your concern that they have bought the Dr. Laura program." …….. The other side. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors officially warned Schlessinger about "making inaccurate statements about gays and lesbians that incite violence and hate." One supervisor said of Schlessinger: "At what point do her words become the equivalent of yelling fire in a crowded theater?" This is a clever verbal maneuver to justify suppression of an opposing viewpoint….. "

Town Hall 3/14/00 R Emmett Tyrrell Jr. "……The First Amendment's freedom of speech clause has come to sanction such arty stuff as feces on canvas, but not public disagreement with various inflamed groups, for instance, with militant homosexuals. How very odd. Artists such as Chris Ofili are defended unto death for putting elephant manure on an otherwise pedestrian painting of the Virgin Mary. Viacom's Paramount Television Group is being importuned by militant homosexuals to drop Dr. Laura Schlessinger's television program from its fall offerings. Neither conservative writers nor liberals are heard to complain. The American Civil Liberties Union is degage. No one complains on behalf of the First Amendment…….. Obviously respect for free speech is in a state of confusion nowadays. That calls for silencing opposition come more frequently from the Left than from the Right is particularly alarming. After all the Left has historically been the defender of free speech, at least in this century. Now the Left silences dissent on campus. It organizes against the likes of Dr. Schlessinger, and resorts to the Owellian expedient of using such perfumed terms as "diversity" to eliminate disagreement. Examples abound. In Florida the National Organization for Women is trying to ban vanity plates on cars that carry the slogan "Choose Life." Why they do not reply with the liberty-loving response of buying their own vanity plates proclaiming "Freedom Of Choice" is a mystery….."

AP 3/24/00 Robert Burns "……Anti-gay speech and harassment is widespread on U.S. military bases and many service members believe it is tolerated by their leaders, the Pentagon's inspector general reported today. ''Although the most frequent type of harassment identified was offensive speech, a small but significant percentage of respondents reported that more serious matters were involved,'' Defense Secretary William Cohen wrote in a memorandum sent today to the civilian and uniformed chiefs of each service. Frank Rush, the deputy undersecretary for planning, told a news conference that 80 percent of those surveyed on military bases and aboard U.S. Navy ships said they had heard offensive speech, derogatory names or offensive jokes aimed at homosexuals at least once over the past year. About 5 percent said they believed that such offensive behavior was tolerated by their unit comander or supervisor. The survey also found, Rush said, that 37 percent of those asked reported that they had witnessed, or been a target of, harassment for perceived homosexuality. Cohen spokesman Kenneth Bacon said there also was ''a disturbing amount'' of offensive graffiti, gestures and even violence directed at people perceived to be homosexual. ……"

MSNBC 3/22/00 Tony Breck "…… AUSTIN, MN-A movie educating Heartland youth about the gay lifestyle has some people in Austin upset. A group for sexual minorities wants Austin public schools and churches to teach students it's OK to be gay. On Monday night, they showed a video of other schools across the nation already doing that. The sexual minority advocacy committee showed the tape to a crowd of teachers, pastors and parents. It tries to show students to accept gays and lesbians as people. "We are trying to clarify that misconception of that it's a choice and that you can recruit people to be gay," said Virginia Larson. Virginia Larson of the advocacy group feels the same. She says the group is made up of parents and friends who lost a homosexual loved one, because the person couldn't handle living in Austin and being gay. "It just shows that prejudice is something learned and that these little kids have an inborn sense of fairness," stated Larson. "We hold a Biblical view that homosexuality is a sin," said Pastor Mike Juntunen. from the Open Bible Church. Pastor Mike and some other pastors share a different view from the advocacy group about adding homosexual acceptance into the classroom. "I am totally against that because that is a lie. It is not OK to be a homosexual. It's like saying it's OK to be a drug dealer," said Juntunen. ….."

Clarion Ledger 3/23/00 Emily Wagster "….. With no debate Wednesday, the House voted 107-8 to ban same-sex couples from adopting children. "It's certainly against God's law and it should be against the laws of the state of Mississippi and the United States of America," one of the bill's supporters, Rep. Eric Robinson, R-Quitman, said after the vote. Said Rep. Frances Fredericks, D-Gulfport, who voted against the measure: "As many children as we have in the system that nobody has adopted ... why are we going to say that this group of people cannot adopt children?" The ban is part of Senate Bill 3074, which could come up for more discussion this session. No one has presented evidence that any Mississippi chancery judge has allowed a gay or lesbian couple to adopt a child. ….."

LewRockwell.com 3/24/00 Joseph Sobran "……. The "progressive" community-news media, politicians, and various moralists at large-is in a lather about "hate crimes," demanding federal legislation to combat them. The trouble is that nobody seems to know exactly what they are. There are of course notorious and stereotypical examples-racial lynchings, gang murders of homosexuals-about which there is no room for doubt. But when we move to other cases, we find ambiguity. If one man kills another in a rage over a homosexual advance, is that a "hate" crime? What if a father kills a pedophile who has tried to seduce his child? Would that be a "hate" crime? The very word "hate" has become tendentious. White murders of blacks may receive nationwide attention as hate crimes, but black murders of whites-which are far more numerous-are rarely treated as hate crimes; seldom do the media describe them as "racially motivated." When a six-year-old fatally shot a classmate in Flint, Michigan, recently, the media tried to conceal the fact that the killer was black and the victim white. And maybe race had nothing to do with it. But on the same day, a black man in Pittsburgh went on a violent spree, killing several whites at random after announcing his intention to shoot white people, and there was no media uproar about racial hatred, such as we have come to expect when whites commit "racially motivated" violence………….. In fact, progressive-minded folks consider it hateful to call attention to such obvious facts about interracial crime. They like to remind us that America is a particularly violent country, but they refuse to recognize the amazing disparity between blacks and other races. The least violent states-the Dakotas, for example-are those that are virtually all white; their crime rates are as low as those of Norway and Japan. I'm probably committing a hate crime by noticing this fact………"

The Boston Globe 3/24/00 AP Ross Sneyd "…..Gov. Howard Dean denounced as ''perfectly asinine'' an advertising campaign that suggested Dean was pursuing the ''homosexual agenda.'' Ads were placed in the Rutland Herald and The Burlington Free Press on Thursday by a group calling itself Who Would Have Thought Inc. ''What's Howard Dean's next item?'' the ad in the Herald headlined. It listed the status of the ''homosexual agenda,'' including legalizing ''all forms of sexual expression: sodomy; pedophilia/sex with children.'' It goes on to suggest that the gay agenda called for cutting the defense budget to pay for AIDS patients' care and sex change operations; taxpayer funding of artificial insemination for gays; and demanding that private organizations, such as the Boy Scouts, ''accept homosexual scoutmasters.'' At his weekly news conference, Dean said the ad was outrageous. ........."

Tamba Bay Online 3/24/00 AP "……. JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) - Gay men have a constitutional right to donate blood, the South African Human Rights Commission has ruled. The commission said in a ruling issued Thursday that it was no longer gays who were most at risk for HIV infection in South Africa, but people in their early 20s. The commission demanded that a blood bank in Western Cape change its practice of not accepting blood from homosexual men. The director of the Western Cape Blood Transfusion Service, Arthur Bird, said Friday he disagreed with the decision and was seeking legal advice. The case came about after Andrew Barnes, a public relations manager, responded to an urgent plea for new donors in the midst of a severe blood shortage last year. ……."

Newsday.com 3/25/00 Gary Robertson "……Reform Judaism is poised for a vote that could make it the most influential U.S. religious group to support clergy who perform same-sex unions. A resolution sanctioning commitment ceremonies is expected to come up at the Central Conference of American Rabbis convention starting Sunday in Greensboro. In an unusual step, discussions will be held privately, a sign of the issue's volatility. A similar vote at the group's 1998 convention was dropped to head off potentially divisive debate. The group's 1,800 members serve at least 1.5 million Reform Jews, the largest and most liberal of Judaism's three major branches in North America. ......... Opponents of the resolution believe it would disparage rabbis who believe same-sex relationships do not meet criteria for the Jewish concept of ''kiddushin,'' or a sanctified relationship between a Jewish husband and wife. Moreover, they warn it would alienate Reform Judaism from Israel, where it seeks stronger recognition, and create sharp divisions among rabbis. ……... "

AP via Sacramento Bee 3/26/00 "……A national campaign to include gays and lesbians in Census 2000 is urging same-sex couples to check off the box indicating they're unmarried partners. Using e-mail, ads in gay publications and word-of-mouth, the campaign is an unofficial way to get a partial indication of the nation's gay and lesbian population, the San Jose Mercury News reported Saturday. "We want to make the point that there is such a thing as a gay or lesbian family," said Paula Ettelbrick, family policy director for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The federal government added the unmarried partners category to the census in 1990, to recognize heterosexual couples who live together without being married. That year, 150,000 same-sex households were identified. "It was a vast undercount," said Ann Northrop, board member for the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies. …."

The Nashville Tennessean 3/25/00 Beth Warren "…..Parents of young children abused at the hands of a Donelson child-care worker blamed the mother of an earlier victim yesterday for not telling police before their children were abused. Prosecutors share the parents' outrage and have charged the Davidson County woman with protecting her friend, Daniel Robert Towery, by not reporting his abuse of her 5-year-old daughter to police in 1996. To protect the children's identities, The Tennessean does not publish the names of parents whose children have been sexually abused. Towery, who cleared all background checks by Children's World Learning Center, pleaded guilty yesterday to sexually abusing six girls while working there between January and July 1999. He also admitted in court to raping his friend's 5-year-old daughter in the 1996 case. Towery, 31, was sentenced to 65 years in prison and will not be eligible for parole until he has served at least 55 years and three months. "He denied it at first," Metro police detective Ron Carter said after the hearing. "Then later, I convinced him to be truthful and he admitted to the things that he did to these children. ……"

CNS News 3/21/00 Lisa Dean "….Dr. Laura Schlessinger has said recently on her program, "when conservatives express their views, it's called 'hate speech.' When the Left expresses its view, it's called 'free speech.' When conservatives disagree with the liberal point of view, they belong to a conspiracy." Given the recent chain of events in the news regarding Dr. Laura's latest career move, no one could attest to the veracity of that statement better than she can. Last month, Paramount Television offered Dr. Laura her own nationally syndicated television program. When the announcement was made publicly, there was an outcry from the Left, specifically homosexual rights groups. How could you give that 'hateful' and 'homophobic' woman an even greater platform to spew her "pseudo-science," as they call it, toward homosexuals? they cried. After all, she says that our lifestyles are immoral. She tells us that our behavior is wrong. She's "judgmental," they whine. No, she's simply telling the truth. We live in an age where objective moral truth is fast becoming a foreign concept. After all, it only matters how you "feel" about something and how you make others feel that makes an act or belief right or wrong. And God help you if you dare ignore feeling and speak objectively and with conviction, as Dr. Laura does, about God's law on matters such as homosexuality, because if you do, you don't make people "feel good" and even hurt their self-esteem! That makes you undoubtedly 'hateful' and a card-carrying member of Hillary Clinton's imaginary "vast right wing conspiracy" and therefore, the First Amendment of the Constitution does not apply to you. ......"

National Review 3/17/00 "…… What follows is the verbatim description from the University of Michigan's Fall 2000 course catalog. U. Michigan was ranked as the 25th best University in the United States in the most recent ratings by US News and World Report.
Engl. 317. Literature and Culture. 001 - How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation Instructor(s): David Halperin
Prerequisites & Distribution: (3). (HU). Laboratory fee ($35) required. May be repeated for credit with department permission.
Credits: (3; 2 in the half-term).
Lab Fee: Laboratory fee ($35) required.
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
Just because you happen to be a gay man doesn't mean that you don't have to learn how to become one. Gay men do some of that learning on their own, but often we learn how to be gay from others, either because we look to them for instruction or because they simply tell us what they think we need to know, whether we ask for their advice or not. This course will examine the general topic of the role that initiation plays in the formation of gay identity. We will approach it from three angles: (1) as a sub-cultural practice - subtle, complex, and difficult to theorize - which a small but significant body of work in queer studies has begun to explore; (2) as a theme in gay male writing; (3) as a class project, since the course itself will constitute an experiment in the very process of initiation that it hopes to understand. In particular, we'll examine a number of cultural artefacts and activities that seem to play a prominent role in learning how to be gay: Hollywood movies, grand opera, Broadway musicals, and other works of classical and popular music, as well as camp, diva-worship, drag, muscle culture, style, fashion, and interior design. …….One aim of exploring these questions is to approach gay identity from the perspective of social practices and cultural identifications rather than from the perspective of gay sexuality itself.
What can such an approach tell us about the sentimental, affective, or aesthetic dimensions of gay identity, including gay sexuality, that an exclusive focus on gay sexuality cannot? At the core of gay experience there is not only identification but disidentification. Almost as soon as I learn how to be gay, or perhaps even before, I also learn how not to be gay. I say to myself, "Well, I may be gay, but at least I'm not like THAT!" Rather than attempting to promote one version of gay identity at the expense of others, this course will investigate the stakes in gay identifications and disidentifications, seeking ultimately to create the basis for a wider acceptance of the plurality of ways in which people determine how to be gay. Work for the class will include short essays, projects, and a mandatory weekly three-hour screening (or other cultural workshop) on Thursday evenings. (Halperin) …."

Source: (The Recorder/Cal Law) 3/24/00 "…….An en banc panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seemed ready Thursday to throw out the court's decision last year upholding the right of two Alaska residential landlords to refuse to rent to unmarried couples. Before a packed courtroom Thursday, several judges -- including conservatives on the 11-judge panel -- expressed concern not that the landlords' religious stand violated Alaska's antidiscrimination housing statutes, but whether their claim was ripe and properly before the court in the first place. The landlords, Kevin Thomas and Joyce Baker, have never been prosecuted or even contacted by the government for failing to comply with the Alaska antidiscrimination law. But they nevertheless filed suit to prevent enforcement of the 20-year-old statute, saying that as devout Christians, renting to unmarried couples would make them complicit in sin. Even Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain, the author of the original three-judge panel's decision in favor of the landlords, seemed concerned about the standing issues. …….."

Toronto Star 3/25/00 "…..Police have received at least 20 telephone calls since the name of a Kitchener Scout leader facing 38 sex-related charges became public this week. Brian Durham, 41, of Kitchener, was arrested March 7, but a court order prevented the media from publishing his name. That ban was lifted Monday. Before the ban was lifted, 10 alleged victims had come forward and 38 charges were laid. The alleged victims range in age from 8 to 14. Police suspected more may come forward. Most of the people who called were seeking more information, but police plan to interview two of the callers, said Sergeant Bill Greer, the Waterloo regional police detective heading the investigation. A third man has already been interviewed and no charges will be laid, Greer said. Durham's bail hearing is slated for April 10. He was one of four Scout leaders who led a group of seven Scouts. He also assisted with the group's Cub pack of 16 boys. Durham was a leader from September 1990 until the charges were laid. ….."

Sydney Morning Herald 3/22/00 Ben Hills "…… The editor of Australia's national Jewish newspaper has been asked to appear before Judaism's highest ecclesiastical court over his coverage of the "Stars of David", the first Jewish float in Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Two other Sydney Jewish leaders have also been invited to front the five senior rabbis who form the Beth Din - literally the "house of judgment" - in a dispute over the acceptance of homosexuality which has split the community. On one side are conservative rabbis who believe homosexuality is a sin. On the other are a Who's Who of community leaders, including three judges and eight university professors, who have come out in public support of a more tolerant, inclusive policy. The views of Orthodox Jews, who form about 10 per cent of Australia's 120,000-strong Jewish community, were expressed in an article in last week's Australian Jewish News by Rabbi Benzion Milecki, the chief minister of South Head Synagogue. "Homosexuality is not only forbidden according to Jewish law, it has the dubious distinction of being one of the only things which the Torah [scriptures] refers to as toeva - an abomination, a word which is used to connote the idea of disgust," he wrote. ….."

News Max 3/21/00 Linda Bowles "….. Laura Schlessinger is one of the very few public figures in America who has the courage to speak out loudly and clearly about the dangers of the homosexual agenda. She is paying a heavy price for telling the truth about a group of people who desperately don't want to hear it - and don't want anybody else to hear it. The awesome truth she tells is that homosexuality is a "deviant lifestyle," that treatment is available, that thousands have changed their lives, and that same-sex marriage undermines traditional family values. It's no small thing to take on the homosexual lobbyists and activists. They have put together one of the most massive and effective propaganda machines ever assembled. They are to be congratulated for conducting a highly successful program of propaganda, idea suppression, intimidation and advocacy. ……A part of the strategy is the suppression of opposing views. Fear, not assent, accounts for the lack of criticism of homosexuality. Any challenge to homosexual propaganda is forbidden, particularly in government schools, on college campuses, in progressive churches, in the entertainment industry, in most of the news media including network television and major newspapers, in political forums, and in various other places where "correct thinking" is paramount, and the truth is irrelevant, if not noxious. Uncontested and unchallenged pro-homosexual propaganda is in your face and everywhere you look……"

UPI via Virtual New York 3/22/00 "…..A Superior Court judge was considering Wednesday a request for a preliminary injunction against a domestic partnership ordinance in Cambridge, Mass., one of the oldest in the nation. The Christian Coalition of Massachusetts said such policies are a "dangerous move toward same-sex marriage." The suit was filed Tuesday in Middlesex Superior Court for the Christian Coalition by the American Center for Law and Justice and the Catholic Action League. In a statement, Coalition executive director Evelyn Reilly said domestic partners' policies send a message that "natural marriage is no more important than transient, and even promiscuous, sexual relationships." She said families already struggling to pay for medical and dental care "should not have to subsidize the illegal sexual relationships of public employees." ..."

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 3/23/00 Bill Gertz "…… Vice President Al Gore will work to overturn the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military if elected president, a Gore aide said yesterday. Leon Fuerth, Mr. Gore's national security adviser and political adviser to the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, also repeated the vice president's January "correction" that he will not require the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to hold pro-homosexual views. Military leaders support the current ban. Mr. Gore "believes there is a case to be made for honest and loyal American men and women who want to serve their country in a volunteer force to be able to do so without fear," Mr. Fuerth said in a breakfast meeting with defense writers. "He believes that the leadership of the military and the rank and file understand the justice of that proposition, even though they may have problems with it."......"

Washington Times 3/23/00 Suzanne Fields "…… Call it the homosexualization of culture. Or the gaying of America. But masculinity ain't what it used to be. The Defense of Marriage Act, which enables the states to ban gay marriages, and Proposition 22 in California, which limits legal recognition of marital unions in that state to those of a man and a woman, have been big losers for the gay community. On the other hand, Vermont is about to enact the legal "equivalent" of gay marriage. But if homosexuals are finding it hard to persuade American society that they should marry like straights, they're finding only rearguard resistance to their influence in the culture. Homosexuals have marched out of the closet in fashions that determine what's chic, at least in some places. Trendy styles for women that de-emphasized curves and cleavage in favor of skinny bodies and flat chests are often attributed to homosexual designers. And now gays are achieving an astonishing influence in feminizing a lot of men…….The spring issue of "Men's Fashions of the [New York] Times," features models whose faces and figures make it difficult to tell the sexes apart. A glamorous Versace ad is so fetchingly fey that the male model looks more feminine than the female. Two men in a double-page spread for Gucci wear deep pink lipstick and shirts unbuttoned to the lower half of their chest. (Gone is the extra crispy chest hair; these male models wax their chests smooth.)……"

Washington Post 3/29/00 Estes Thompson "……Reform Jewish leaders on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a resolution giving rabbis the option of presiding at gay commitment ceremonies. With the vote, the Central Conference of American Rabbis became the most influential U.S. religious group to sanction same-sex unions.. …."

UPI Wire 3/29/00 "……The Supreme Court made it easier Wednesday for U.S. communities to ban nude dancing. In a case out of Erie, Pa., a majority of the justices said such bans are constitutional as long as they are "content neutral," banning all public nudity, regardless of message. Speaking for the court, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said a ban such as Erie's is content-neutral because it "regulates conduct, not speech, and it bans all public nudity, regardless of speech" associated with such a public display. Content-neutral bans on behavior are reviewed by the courts with les severity than those targeting speech, which must leap a higher hurdle under the First Amendment. ….."

Associated Press 3/29/00 Jeff Donn "……A provocative study of finger lengths found that lesbians are more likely than other women to have a subtle masculine trait, while gay men may display that same characteristic more than heterosexuals. The research adds to an expanding body of evidence that sexual orientation is at least partly a matter of biology - and not simply a choice or a result of cultural or psychological influences. It also provides evidence for the theory that exposure to higher levels of male sex hormones in the womb can help make a person lesbian or gay, despite the stereotype of effeminate gay men, the researchers say. The researchers at the University of California at Berkeley built their study on an already known quirk of human anatomy: Men tend to have shorter index fingers than ring fingers. In women, those two fingers tend to be about the same length. …….The fingers of lesbians were closer to the typical male configuration - with the shorter index finger - than the fingers of other women. The finding points to higher levels of male sex hormones in early life for lesbians, the researchers said. ......"

PRN Newswire 3/28/00 Two national advertisers have canceled commercials during Laura Schlessinger's radio program, according to information obtained today by StopDrLaura.com. The companies' decisions come in the midst of a growing controversy over Paramount's plans to offer the "Dr. Laura" show on television this fall. StopDrLaura.com learned of the companies' decisions in e-mails from company executives. An executive with More.com, an online pharmacy, wrote to one concerned customer: "We do not want to have any association with Dr. Laura." The message was written by Alessia Johnson, customer contact specialist for More.com, in direct response to a customer concerned about Schlessinger's anti-gay statements. "We certainly do not want to give our valued customers the wrong idea about More.com," Johnson continued. "We do not support her views and we refuse to advertise with her again."….."

Office of the Chief Counsel of the ACLJ 3/29/00 Jay Sekulow Esq "……Homosexual activists are on the verge of destroying the Boy Scouts of America -- and your church could be their next target! This summer the US Supreme Court will decide if the government can force the Scouts to place homosexuals in leadership positions. If the Scouts lose this case before the Supreme Court, think of the ramifications: **Every Scout Troop across America was immediately impacted (there are more than 100,000 troops nationwide)... **Tens of thousands of churches that sponsor Scout troops were suddenly confronted with the chilling prospect of court-mandated homosexual leaders in their churches... **Religious schools across America will become the next logical targets of the homosexual activists! This is an extremely intense battle. I can tell you from my conversations with high-ranking scout leaders that the scouts are facing unbelievable pressure to cave in to the homosexuals. If they would just change their code, this whole thing would go away, they are told..."

The State News 3/28/00 Sara Luneberg "……A new English course being added to the University of Michigan's fall schedule is drawing fire from the Michigan branch of a nationwide conservative group. Gary Glenn, president of Michigan's American Family Association, said the organization has sent messages to government and U-M officials, calling for the removal of the course "How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation." "I'm confident that when Michigan taxpayers learn that U of M wants to teach a class whose stated purpose is to initiate teenage students into the homosexual lifestyle, there will be strong public opposition," Glenn said. "We believe it's wrong for a public university to force taxpayers, many of whom think homosexuality is wrong, to pay for this class." But the professor who designed the class and will teach it this fall, doesn't understand where all the fuss is coming from. "I know that they haven't attempted to contact me for information on the course," David Halperin said. "I don't think they're interested in getting information. They just want to mobilize opposition. They have no idea what I'm teaching, because even I don't know quite what it will be yet." Halperin said he can't comment on exact course content until he has finished the syllabus this summer. But according to the course description, it will address topics including "diva-worship, drag, muscle culture, style, fashion and interior design." …….. "Obviously they haven't done much research. You can assume a lot of untrue things from the title," Matteson said. "The whole idea of being able to recruit (people to homosexuality) doesn't exist. It's just propaganda. You can't recruit someone to be gay anymore than you can to be a foreigner." ….."

Detriot Times 3/27/00 Deb Price "……America loves role models …… The cultural tug-of-war over the proper place of openly gay Americans centers not on whether we should be allowed to, say, sell shoes but on such role model jobs as soldier, teacher, cleric, lawmaker, police officer, parent and Boy Scout leader. While this culture war is not yet won, most of the nation already welcomes openly gay role models, as a close look at a major new Newsweek poll reveals. Increasingly large majorities of Americans want the most respected professions to include openly gay people, Newsweek's snapshot of national attitudes confirms. Instead of "Gay Today," the Newsweek cover story highlighting this poll and featuring a gay cop, a gay minister, a gay soldier, a gay teacher and a gay doctor on the cover ought to have been entitled, "Gay Role Models OK with America." By 57 percent to 35 percent, Americans want openly gay soldiers, for example, Newsweek found in its poll conducted March 9-10. Likewise, most Americans (86 percent) say gay men and lesbians "should be hired" as pro athletes, as doctors and dentists (75 percent, up from 70 percent in 1998), as members of the clergy (52 percent), as high school teachers (63 percent, up from 54 percent in 1992), as elementary school teachers (60 percent, up from 51 percent in 1992) and as "major political officeholders" (71 percent). Those levels of support are translating into major gains throughout the gay civil rights movement……."

Charisma News 3/27/00 "......A New York pastor whose giant billboard advertisements condemning homosexuality sparked a public outcry is planning to go to court to have them re-posted. Kristopher Okwedy's Bible-quoting messages were covered over just a few days into a monthlong campaign planned for Staten Island, N.Y. Now the American Family Association (AFA) is preparing a lawsuit for him against the advertising company and an elected official who pushed for the signs' removal. Protests started soon after the two billboards--each simply featuring four Bible translations of Leviticus 18:22, which forbids homosexual activity--went up last month. Local gay activists complained that the anonymous signs could provoke hate crimes, and borough president Guy Molinari joined the criticism. Around 100 people attended a prayer vigil last week to celebrate the signs' removal. ....."

LewRockwell.com 4/3/00 Wendy McElroy "……In the award-winning radical feminist play by Eve Ensler entitled The Vagina Monologues, a 24-year-old woman plies a 13-year-old girl with alcohol, then sexually seduces her. By statute and by feminist definition, this "seduction" is rape. Yet, from the stage, the little girl declares, "Now people say it was a kind of rape ... Well, I say if it was rape, it was a good rape..." Apparently, the reference to "good rape" has been deleted from some performances but the surrounding language makes the rape's goodness clear. For example, the little girl eulogizes her orgasm: "She gently and slowly lays me out on the bed..." She gratefully concludes, "I'll never need to rely on a man."…… Elsewhere, Swope asked, "why is rape only wrong when a man commits it, but when it's by a woman committed against another woman, who just happens to be 13-years-old, it is celebrated and a university club sponsors it?"……"

Insight Magazine 3/30/00 Paul Rodriguez "……. There's an old maxim: If you put it on paper, one day it will come back and bite you.The same can be said in the nineties of storing information on a computer data-base. The Clinton snoops are about to be bitten. At the same time President Clinton issued his now famous "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals in the military, the White House secretly was issuing a different set of orders to its own political lieutenants: Segregate resumes pouring into the new administration by sexual preferences. "It was utterly outrageous," says one of nearly a dozen current and former Clinton, Bush and Reagan administration officials who spoke to Insight about operations at the White House and the growing scandal involving FBI background reports on hundreds of prominent Republicans. "We told them that it was unethical and possibly illegal to do this," says one source. "They didn't care," says another familiar with the matter. ………… But, despite protests, it did not stop there. Confidential internal documents obtained by Insight indicate that the White House moved to create an even more ambitious and comprehensive computer database within the Executive Office of the President -one designed to keep tabs on virtually anyone who did or might come into contact with presidential personnel. Known by the acronym WHODB, for White House Office Data Base, the super-secret computer system was nicknamed Big Brother - and for good reason. The "eyes only" database not only can track generic information about people and issues, it is designed to include such intimacies as personal biographies, military records, academic degrees, family details and addresses, political loyalties and how or whether individuals are "important" by region, state or city. ……..Conceived in late 1993 and developed throughout 1994 and 1995 under a protocol stamped "President and First Lady," the secret project was ordered by the White House through a double-blind contract under the aegis of a general-maintenance computer firm that subcontracts special projects. WHODB was, by all accounts, the most closely guarded of its secret jobs…….. The first lady was involved in and "was pleased" with initial phases of the project; so too was the president. The project was overseen by political appointees in the West Wing of the White House. It had an option designed to link it to the WAVES database system operated by the U.S. Secret Service's computer center. That center collects background information on people entering the White House and interacting with the president, first lady and senior staff anywhere in the world. ……."

Associated Press 3/31/00 Mike Glover "……Gov. Tom Vilsack and the mother of Matthew Shepard announced the establishment of a college scholarship program in Shepard's name for openly gay high school students. "These scholarships will add meaning to a life cut short," Vilsack said Thursday. Vilsack appeared at a news conference with Judy Shepard, whose son, a gay University of Wyoming student, was fatally beaten in Laramie, Wyo., in 1998. Since her son's death, she has traveled the country, campaigning against hate crimes involving gays. "We must change these attitudes and we must take a stand," Shepard said. She said the scholarships would help help win acceptance of gays. ….."

London Times, The 4/1/00 Grace Bradberry "……. STUDENT teachers at San Diego State University were told to visit homosexual bars and identify themselves as gay or lesbian even if they were not, as part of a multicultural education course. This and other so-called "cultural plunges" have now earned the university a Polly, an award handed out each year by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, for outrageous examples of political correctness on college campuses. The institute, a conservative think-tank based in Wilmington, Delaware, solicits nominations from students on campuses across America. The institute said that the Pollys were awarded on or near April Fool's Day to highlight "the zany, bizarre, and noxious tendencies of radical faculty and students on the nation's college campuses". ……"

World Net Daily 4/1/00 Dr. Jerry Falwell and Linda Harvey "……This week, I am relinquishing my column to Linda Harvey, president of the Columbus, Ohio-based Mission America. …….. By Linda P. Harvey Choice4Truth………. Let's say you're a high school principal in Anytown, USA, and some students have come to you asking to form a "gay" club. Since more than 600 such clubs have been formed in the past seven years in American high schools, it's certainly not revolutionary, they tell you. You start to think, yes, this might be a workable idea. After all, these are students who are more prone to being discriminated against, and this would raise their self-esteem. ... But wait. This administrator needs to slow way down, and think. We are talking here about homosexuality -- not the debate team. Most or all the students who want to form this group have homosexual desires and are willing to participate in the behaviors involved in homosexuality, behaviors commonly associated with serious diseases like AIDS. In fact, in the weirdest of ironies, there is a high probability that currently at Anytown High, there is money being spent to fund a health education program warning about the dangers of HIV -- and the associated behaviors. And now you may sponsor a club that will find those behaviors acceptable? Those at highest risk of HIV are males who engage in anal sex. It's a practice engaged in by roughly three-fourths of homosexual males…………."

World Net Daily 4/1/00 Dr. Jerry Falwell and Linda Harvey "……But the issue goes way beyond health. In today's climate, a school not only encourages risky, unhealthy behavior by allowing a homosexuality club, but also fosters a climate of tension and division. This is because of what gay clubs -- or "gay/straight alliances," as they are often called -- will spend their time exploring. Here's what goes on in such groups, and some of the ramifications:

* Misinformation about homosexuality will be learned. Uniformly supportive, it will reinforce the homosexual desires of vulnerable teens, without any authentic exploration of what has prompted these desires. Genetic origins will be firmly claimed without a scintilla of supporting scientific evidence (since there is none)….

* Their "rights" to "be who they are" -- i.e., to participate in homosexual behavior -- will be constantly reinforced. These "rights" will increasingly be defined as they want -- until adults put on the brakes…..

* The group will dwell on what they believe constitutes harassment or discrimination by other students or teachers. So, having sealed their decisions to "be who they are," and being immature adolescents anyway, this group's interpretation of harassment can range from extreme sensitivity about natural and commonplace disapproval by other teens, to rage when a "straight" teen swiftly and angrily rejects homosexual advances….

* Activist training will have a fertile field. Regional conferences will be attended by the club members and adult advisors. A slight can become a potential lawsuit, because these teens, and often their sympathetic parents, will know about the resources at their disposal through Lambda Legal Defense Fund, GLSEN, and other national, well-funded groups.....,,

* Traditional religions that disapprove of homosexuality will be regularly and soundly trashed. The intolerance coming out of the adult pro-homosexual lobby is implanted here, and a mindset of animosity is created. "Gay" clubs, by perpetuating myths, help to fuel division, not eliminate it….

* Gay clubs will embrace the idea that cross-dressing is a defensible activity. Transgendered rights are going to include -- get ready, school boards -- the right to define one's own gender; to use whichever bathroom or shower one wants; or attend whichever gym class or be on whatever sports team one wishes. To not see reality as these individuals see it will be, again, "discrimination." …….

* Social activities will be planned for homosexual teens -- and their adult advisers. So their defense will be that the prom is a dating activity for heterosexuals -- why not something for homosexuals? But homosexuality is high risk. Vastly higher percentages of kids die early from the practices associated with it. Fifty percent of all newly-reported HIV infections are found in people under 25……."

4/3/00 The State News Jason Van Dyke "…….I can see it now. By about 9:00 am today everybody is going to be talking about how some bigot at Michigan State University dared attack homosexual rights during MSU PRIDE 2000. I say "good".......,The "fun" began on Thursday, March 23 with a speaker named Mary Daly. Now, I am sure everybody has seen stickers and signs relating to "tolerance" and "diversity" spring up all over campus since this school year has started. Ironically enough, Daly is among the most intolerant people in the United States today. She is an advocate of segregation and openly promotes "women's only space". Daly even refuses to allow men to attend her feminist philosophy classes, and, when asked why she has responded with profanity that she does not want them to interfere….."

4/3/00 The State News Jason Van Dyke "……Another will be taking place today, and it will be a presentation from the Lambda Defense Fund. In a letter that was sent out regarding PRIDE 2000 as well as on the Lambda Defense Fund website, it is discussed how this fund is trying to get "recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, and people living with HIV/AIDS through impact legislation, education, and public policy work." I found it somewhat humorous (and somewhat sickening) that they mentioned HIV-related discrimination. This is because nowhere in this program is anything scheduled about HIV/AIDS prevention. They can't tell homosexuals that what they do in their bedrooms is dangerous, can spreads hepatitis and HIV and that it should be avoided - because that would be discrimination….."

4/3/00 The State News Jason Van Dyke "……Most ironic of all is the "Vigil Against Hate Crimes" which is scheduled to take place tomorrow. It asks students "to please attend to show support to those minority groups who have been oppressed, harassed, and even killed for only being individuals". I do not support crimes against anybody, whether they are a minority group or not, for any reason. However, I find it ironic that they would mention oppression and harassment when, in fact, oppression and harassment is one of the major activities of this entire movement. Every since the "gay pride movement" became politically correct, we have had everything having to do with hate crime, diversity, tolerance, and oppression (both real and imagined) shoved down our throats. We have seen shirts with sayings such as "Homophobia is a Social Disease" and everything relating to diversity ever slapped on a bumper sticker or a T-shirt….."

4/3/00 The State News Jason Van Dyke "……Tolerance and diversity have to do with promoting understanding of persons that look, act, and believe differently than you. Does the gay rights movement do this? Yeah right. As long as one agrees with their positions on the issues you are their best friend, but the minute one even starts questioning their agenda it is an entirely different story. When a person speaks out in opposition to their movement, whether is be for religious reasons or otherwise, they are instantly branded as bigots and hate-mongers. All of this is coming from a group that is supposed to be promoting diversity and free speech. Certainly, if the right to free speech exists it all it protects the rights of people to disagree with what society currently values as the politically correct thing to believe. It is purely hypocritical to condemn members of what they call the religious right as for referring to homosexuals as "faggots" when in the same breath they do the same kind of name-calling by referring to Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell as "bigots".. "

Jewish World Review 4/18/00 Betsy Hart "…… THE SHOCKING HEADLINE in the New York Times read "2 Boys Held in Rape of Girl, 9, at School" and it was pretty awful stuff. The boys who allegedly committed the April 10th attack were 12, and the rape reportedly happened during school hours in an exit vestibule of a public school in New York City. Yes, that's 9-years-old, 12-years-old, and a public school while classes were in session. According to reports it's the third sexual attack involving young students at the school this year. The details of the incident were bad enough. But I was also struck by the prescience of what proved to be a related New York Times story earlier this month, a report by Anne Jarrell on the dramatic increase of middle school children in New York City having sex. And, by inference, what this may mean for the rest of America. Jarrell interviewed a number of New York psychologists and other experts who generally agreed with Dr. Richard Gallagher, director of the Parenting Institute at New York University's Child Study Center when he said, "I see no reason not to believe that soon a substantial number of youths will be having intercourse in the middle-school years. . . it's already happening." Jarrell cites one report showing that nationally, 17 percent of seventh and eighth graders have already had sexual intercourse. And, she says, "other, smaller studies put the percentage even higher." ……"

Concerned Women for America 4/17/00 Tanya L. Green, J.D. "...... U.S. Supreme Court to review Scouts in homosexual lawsuit On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight [emphasis added]. Since its inception in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has maintained its identity as a clean-cut, conservative youth movement devoted to building character and teaching responsibility to boys and young men. However, a 1999 New Jersey Supreme Court decision struck down the Scouts' ban on homosexuality, threatening to force the organization to compromise its long-held oath. ..... The BSA dismissed James Dale, a former assistant scoutmaster, nearly 10 years ago because his homosexuality violated its oath. Dale filed a lawsuit against the Scouts, which went all the way to the state's highest court. The New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Scouts could not exclude homosexuals from leadership. The court based its decision on the state's Law Against Discrimination, which prohibits "places of public accommodation" from discriminating against homosexuals. The Scouts then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the decision is allowed to stand, its impact could be far reaching. Churches and other private organizations could then be forced to allow homosexuals in positions of responsibility. ........"

The Associated Press 4/18/00 "……Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig told an audience at the U.S. Naval Academy that the military should not be considered a testing ground for gay-rights issues. Responding to a question about gays in military service, Danzig said Monday night that American society "hasn't reached a consensus" on gay rights. "In the end, the military itself shouldn't be a driver of that, but a follower of the consensus of society," he said. "It is really much more an issue for society-at-large as it is for the military," he said. "The military isn't essentially a testing ground." ….."

New York Post 4/16/00 Carl Campanile "...... Schools are "ticking time bombs" for sex crimes because there aren't enough monitors, counselors and security guards to track troubled students, worried parents and educators charge. Their complaints take on new urgency after three reported sex attacks - allegedly by students ages seven to 12 - on classmates at CS 200 in Harlem since February. "The schools are ticking time bombs waiting to happen," said Leo Stevens, vice president of the United Parents Association. He said inadequate staffing - coupled with incompetent substitute teachers - leave gaping holes in student safety. Stevens also said he suspects sex crimes are being underreported by school officials. The Police Department - which took over school security in December 1998 -refused Friday to release school-by-school data on sex crimes. A spokesman said the figures required further analysis. ……."

Scout's Honour - News Review 4/15/00 Ben Hills "…….. The leader of Australia's 90,000-strong Scouting movement has apologised to the families of Scouts sexually abused by a serial pedophile over nearly 30 years. Roderick Corrie, 57, one of the most senior and highly decorated Scouts in NSW, preyed on dozens of boys in his care, while the Scouting leadership failed to adequately investigate complaints against him. Conceding that Corrie should have been detected, sacked and prosecuted years ago, the Chief Commissioner of Scouts Australia, Dr Bruce Munro, told the Herald: "I am appalled, and I apologise for anything I have done that has contributed to what has happened. I am almost speechless about the whole thing." Corrie was jailed for seven years in February after pleading guilty in the District Court to the eight most serious of 77 charges of sexual abuse, including rape and buggery. The offences spanned almost 30 years, from 1969 to 1995. ……."

CBN News 4/17/00 David Snyder "……Vermont is on the brink of becoming the first state in the union to sanction a form of same-sex marriage. This week, the Vermont Senate is expected to approve legally binding "civil unions" that parallel heterosexual marriages in their rights and responsibilities. But state legislators may not be prepared for the groundswell of opposition that is erupting around the state. The Green Mountain State: placid and idyllic under a late-season coat of snow. But scratch the surface and fault lines appear. "In this town, it's always been about hate, and it's always been about discrimination and it always will be!" shouts one man. ……"

World Net Daily 4/15/00 Julie Foster "……. The homosexual rights group "Oral Majority" will hold a rally at the Pentagon on April 29th to honor "gays and lesbians who gave life and limb to stop the Nazis" and to protest the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding homosexual personnel. Bob Kunst, spokesman for Oral Majority, claims the government treats homosexuals as second-class citizens and dishonors homosexuals who served in the military. "The fact that the Pentagon is supporting the moral majority is like supporting the Nazis that deny people their human rights," he said. Kunst, who has been active in the homosexual rights movement for many years, was prevented by the Carter administration from laying a wreath adorned with a rainbow flag -- the homosexual community's self-proclaimed symbol -- at the tomb of the unknown soldier. …….."

Movement Teaches Tolerance Hypocritically Jason Van Dyke "…….I can see it now. By about 9:00 am today everybody is going to be talking about how some bigot at Michigan State University dared attack homosexual rights during MSU PRIDE 2000. I say "good". Everytime something like that happens my point will be proven again and again. The point is that these gay "rights" activists that claim to be teaching tolerance to everybody and ridding the world of "ignorance" are actually some of the most bigoted and intolerant people one can meet. ……… The "fun" began on Thursday, March 23 with a speaker named Mary Daly. Now, I am sure everybody has seen stickers and signs relating to "tolerance" and "diversity" spring up all over campus since this school year has started. Ironically enough, Daly is among the most intolerant people in the United States today. She is an advocate of segregation and openly promotes "women's only space". Daly even refuses to allow men to attend her feminist philosophy classes, and, when asked why she has responded with profanity that she does not want them to interfere. Perhaps the real reason is that she wants to be able to spew her venom in an environment where nobody will be around to ask her students to actually think about what they are hearing from the mouth of their professor. ……Before the gay rights movement goes on a march trying to teach tolerance, perhaps they should learn something about it themselves. Among the things they need to realize is that there are some people that are sickened by their lifestyle. This may be for a variety of reasons and they may include religious ones. We have never once heard, from any person preaching diversity, that it was okay to disagree with him. All we have heard is a message of ignorance - that to be against the homosexual lifestyle means that you must be a hateful and despicable person. Once they learn to respect the fact that there are people in this world who have serious moral objections to their lifestyle, maybe they will be able to preach their message and not look like hypocrites. ……"

NY Press 4/4/00 Petra Dickenson "……..Two weeks before the first anniversary of the brutal killing of Matthew Shepard, in September of 1999, a 13-year-old boy was murdered in Rogers, AK. Jesse Dirkhising, his body covered with feces, died while being repeatedly raped and sodomized with various objects, including an enema filled with the urine of one of his tormentors. The murder, and the ongoing court proceedings against the alleged perpetrators, one of whom is scheduled to go on trial on April 10, has received virtually no media attention outside of the Ozarks. Vicious murders happen all the time. This could be said about the murder of Matthew Shepard. Yet his death unleashed not only a frenzy of coverage and was denounced at rallies, protests and candlelight vigils around the country, it even brought out demands from the Arkansan in the White House for "hate crime legislation" on the theory, presumably, that the death penalty the prosecutors were seeking was insufficient. It was The Washington Times that made the Jesse Dirkhising story more than just a local news item, and L. Brent Bozell III who subsequently pointed out that self-imposed political correctness on the part of the media was responsible for the different treatment of the two cases. With few exceptions, the nation's newspapers twisted themselves into bundles of contradiction trying to refute the charge that they could possibly be biased. But if their original silence was telling and might by some force of the imagination be deemed innocent, the reaction to Bozell's allegations could leave no doubt that he had been right. The media will indeed shape the news to accommodate any contemporary fashion. And what's more fashionable these days than gay and lesbian politics? Dirkhising was a boy murdered by two homosexuals, Shepard was a homosexual killed by two heterosexuals….."

The Boston Globe 4/4/00 "……SABATTUS, Maine (AP) A Roman Catholic priest who was sent out of state after being identified by church officials as the creator of a sexually explicit Web site for gay clergy will not be coming back, according to his parishioners. Sister Lucille Fournier told churchgoers at Sunday services at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish that the Rev. John Harris would not return. The Diocese of Portland would not confirm the nun's report. Whether Harris will return is up to the bishop, who has not announced anything publicly, diocese spokesman Marc Mutty said. …….. "

AFA Journal 4/14/00 Fred Jackson and Bill Fancher "...... A husband and wife from Ft. Worth, TX, are among five people facing multiple indictments for allegedly peddling internet child pornography. U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins says Thomas and Janice Reedy did more than a million dollars of business a year offering customers access to child porn web sites. Authorities say an unusual part of this case is that the three other people indicted live in Indonesia and Russia. They say those individuals ran the web sites which contained pictures and videos of children as young as four years old. ......"

American Family Association 4/14/00 Fred Jackson "…….Texas Governor George W. Bush says he's a "better person" for having met with a group of homosexuals yesterday. The meeting between the likely Republican presidential candidate and the Republican homosexuals has been talked about for weeks. Analysts say Bush felt pressured to have the session as a way of proving he's not controlled by the conservative wing of the GOP. After the meeting, Bush told reporters that he welcomes gay Americans into his campaign, saying that sexual orientation is not a factor. And then he added that he wanted conservative Republicans to understand that he judges people based on their heart and soul, and that he believes "we're all God's children." ……"

Denver Post 4/13/00 Al Knight "……The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has embarked upon an ambitious public brain-washing project that will ultimately redefine the concept of free speech. The group's immediate goal is to force Paramount Pictures to cancel a new television program featuring radio talk-show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger even before its debut this fall. The organization's longer-term goal is to persuade the news media that when it comes to homosexuality, there is only one accepted viewpoint, the one endorsed by - you guessed it - GLAAD. GLAAD so far has been quite successful in its attack on Schlessinger, who ranks a close second in radio popularity to conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. In recent weeks, the Paramount Television Group was sufficiently alarmed about the protest that it assured homosexual activists that Dr. Laura's new program, already syndicated to cover 85 percent of the nation's TV audience, would contain "many points of view on homosexuality and other issues." Paramount's proclamation, of course, did little to soften GLAAD's opposition. ……"

The Associated Press 4/3/00 "…….. Craig Peterson was going to be a father.............. He knew when he started the adoption process he would have to overcome the stigma of being single and gay............ Peterson, went through months of interviews and training and was finally allowed to have a little girl placed with him........... But then the little girls foster parents, Saundra and Earl "Butch" Kimmerling, learned about Peterson's sexual orientation. They protested, rallying state and local politicians to their side............... They were certain they were right- certain that a homosexual could not be a good parent, and that a heterosexual would be........ Within a week of learning that Peterson is gay, the Kimerlings filed to adopt Mary.............. "We have her and we're a family," Saundra Kimmerling said at the time................. Earl Kimmerling, who worked for the Indiana Department of Transportation, admitted molesting the child........ On January 13 of this year, with Peterson present, Kimmerling pleaded guilty to four counts of child molestation. Peterson wept as the charges were read........... The Kimmerlings separatted after the charges were filed, and Mary remains with Saundra Kimmerling, who has refused any comment ……."

WASHINGTON TIMES 4/3/00 Thomas Elias "……. OAKLAND, Calif. - You can't get much more explicit than the anti-AIDS advertising campaign Alameda County officials are mounting here on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay. One black man lies atop another, both naked, two empty glasses and a liquor bottle beside them. An unused condom lies on the floor nearby. That's the ad campaign that now adorns small billboards, postcards, business-size plastic cards, condom packages and matchbooks. "Been there. Done that. Get HIV tested. It could save your life," says the slogan on each of the advertising items. The signs are being posted in areas most likely to be frequented by gay black men.[racial profiling?] The smaller items are given away in nightclubs, adult video stores, bathhouses, bars and other known gay hangouts. The shock ads are the county health department's response to a state of emergency declared in 1998, when AIDS officially become the number one killer of African Americans ages 25 to 44 in Alameda County, bumping homicide out of that spot for the first time since the early 1960s. ……. The campaign is aimed primary at blacks because they are five times more likely to contract the deadly HIV virus than whites or blacks. Blacks make up just 18 percent of the county population, but account for 42 percent of its 5,400 active AIDS cases. ……"

American Family Association 4/5/00 "……… On Wednesday, April 5, the Center For Reclaiming America, an outreach of Coral Ridge Ministries, along with the Family Research Council, American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, Focus on the Family, and Exodus International, will be holding a press conference at the Courtyard Detroit Downtown, 333 East Jefferson (across from Renaissance Tower) Detroit, Michigan. The group will respond to the recent censorship of the "Truth In Love" TV ads by stations in the Detroit area. These ads offer homosexuals an alternative, and present hope for change to those struggling with homosexuality. "The ad, entitled 'Families', which features three families where both parents have successfully left the homosexual lifestyle behind, has been discriminated against," said Janet L. Folger, National Director the Center for Reclaiming America and Truth in Love Campaign coordinator. "What we have here are television stations telling religious group that their views are invalid - in any other country, that's called religious discrimination." ……."

Detroit News 4/6/00 Louise Knott "……Several conservative Christian groups are blasting Metro Detroit television stations for refusing to air an advertisement seeking to help gays become straight. Christian leaders who gathered Wednesday called the refusal religious discrimination and accused stations of bowing to local gay activists. One station, CBS affiliate WWJ-TV, has agreed to run it, but only between 12:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. The ad features two married couples -- one from Detroit -- who say they were able to escape, as they put it, "the homosexual lifestyle" after finding God. Local stations said it was too controversial to run, according to Janet Folger of the Center for Reclaiming America. "The way some news media -- in this case, local Detroit television -- handles the pressure and political agenda of local homosexual activists is not a pretty picture," said Gary Glenn, president of the Michigan chapter of the American Family Association. ….."

St. Louis Post-Dispatch 4/5/00 Eric Stern "…….Supporters of a legislative effort to ban sex with animals say that forging ahead with a bestiality bill is worth the barbs from late-night talk show hosts. Having no law that prohibits bestiality "makes us look like some kind of backward hillbilly state," says the sponsor, Rep. Catherine Hanaway, R-Des Peres. Hanaway's bill was sparked by a story in the Riverfront Times, a free St. Louis weekly, last fall about a southwest Missouri man's sexual relationship with a horse. She said her constituents demanded that bestiality be outlawed. The House Criminal Law Committee held a hearing Wednesday on the bill, which would impose a maximum five-year prison sentence and $5,000 fine on people convicted of having sex with animals. Hanaway said she will try to add the proposal onto another bill during the legislative session. ......... Having sex with animals was banned in Missouri until 1977, when lawmakers rewrote the state's sodomy laws and accidentally left out bestiality. No one took notice until the late George Willard of Carl Junction, Mo., published a book in 1994 about his fetish. ……."

AP 3/29/00 "……A student-organized memorial lecture series intended to tackle controversial topics has led to protests from some parents and area residents upset that the subject chosen this year was ''Being Gay in America.'' More than 400 people signed two petitions protesting this year's lectures at Ithaca High School and on Monday and Tuesday small groups of protesters picketed the high school, Principal Susan Strauss said Wednesday. There were no protesters Wednesday as the lecture series continued with a debate on gays in the military and a critical discussion of Vermont's proposed law to allow ''civil unions'' between gay couples by Jamiel Terry, the son of Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry. It is the 16th year for the lecture series, which was started in 1984 as a memorial to David Nosanchuk, who was senior class president when he accidentally drowned. Strauss said Nosanchuk was known for his passion for wanting to explore different perspectives on debated issues. ........."

Front Page Magazine 3/30/00Thomas Sowell "……. THE ISSUE OF GAY MARRIAGE is one of many signs of the sloppy thinking of our times. Centuries of laws, policies, and traditions have grown up around marriage as a union of a man and a woman. Now the demand is that all those laws, policies, and traditions simply be transferred automatically and en masse to an entirely different union that chooses to use the same word. Homosexuals were on their strongest ground when they argued that what happens between consenting adults is nobody else's business. Now they want to make it everybody's business by requiring others to acquiesce in their unions and treat them as they would other unions, both in law and in social practice. Why is marriage a government concern in the first place? There are at least three reasons…….. First of all, a marriage between a man and a woman has the potential to produce additional people, who are neither consenting nor adults……… Second, men and women are inherently in very different positions within a marriage. The inescapable fact that only women become pregnant means that male and female situations are never going to be the same, no matter how much "gender neutral" language we use or how much fashionable talk there is about how "we" are going to have a baby………Third, time has very different effects on men and women. As the years pass and women lose their physical attraction, men are typically rising in income and occupational status. It is usually easier for a middle-aged man to abandon his wife and make a second marriage with a younger "trophy wife" than for a woman to remarry equally as advantageously. Since a woman has often invested years of her life in creating a home and family, the marriage contract is one way of trying to assure her that this investment will not be in vain. These and other differences between the sexes simply do not apply when the people in a domestic union are of the same sex. When they are simply "consenting adults," they can consent on whatever terms they choose to work out between themselves. It is nobody else's business and should not be the law's business……."

Tulsa World 4/27/00 Jann Clark "….. A Benton County Circuit judge denied defense attorneys' requests Wednesday to suppress evidence against their client, Davis Don Carpenter Jr., one of the two defendants charged with capital murder in the death and rape of a 13-year old Rogers boy. Judge David Clinger ruled in favor of the prosecution Wednesday afternoon, saying the search warrants used to seize 114 items from Carpenter's apartment on Sept. 6, the day Jesse Dirkhising died, were valid and can be used in the July 17 trial. Clinger also ruled that police used a legal method to gather evidence against Carpenter later that day, and the evidence will be admissible in court Carpenter and Joshua "Josh" Brown, 22 are each charged with one count of capital murder and six counts of rape in the case. …… "

Washington Post 4/22/00 R.H. Melton and Ann O'Hanlon "…… A unanimous Virginia Supreme Court struck down an Arlington County law yesterday that conferred health insurance benefits on the unmarried domestic partners of local government employees. The county said it plans no appeal. The state's high court ruled 7 to 0 that Arlington erred three years ago when it expanded its legal definition of eligible dependents to include domestic partners. The court said the General Assembly had never expressly granted such authority to local governments. Arlington, which has 7,000 government and school employees, devised a new benefits plan that was "not a reasonable method of implementing its implied authority," the court said. In Richmond, the lawyer representing three Arlington taxpayers who challenged the program hailed the ruling despite the court's decision not to address the broader question of a county legislating in the field of domestic relations. "We won the ballgame," said attorney Jordan W. Lorence, of Fairfax County. "Virginia keeps the units of local government on a very tight leash."……"

AP via FoxNews 4/25/00 Ross Sneyd "……Vermont lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to a bill that would make the state the first in the nation to give gay and lesbian couples the benefits of marriage. Gov. Howard Dean has promised to sign the bill and may do so by the end of the week. The first civil unions ceremonies could take place after July 1. The final House vote on accepting Senate amendments was 79-68. "The granting of the equal protections of the law by providing the legal protections, benefits and responsibilities that flow from marriage will not diminish your humanity, your dignity, your freedom or independence," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Thomas Little said. "The continued denial of these legal protections, benefits and responsibilities to a small but vulnerable class of Vermont's citizens diminishes their humanity, dignity, freedom and independence," he said……."

Newark (NJ) Star Ledger 4/25/00 Robert Cohen "….A diverse coalition of religious groups -- Catholics, Orthodox Jews, Mormons, Southern Baptists -- are sending a clear message to the Supreme Court: Don't force the Boy Scouts of America to accept gays as Scoutmasters. When the justices convene tomorrow to review a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that said the Boy Scouts cannot ban homosexuals from those leadership positions, the legal arguments will center on questions dealing with civil rights and freedom of speech and association. James Dale, a 29-year-old gay activist barred from a Boy Scouts troop in Matawan, will argue through attorneys that the Boy Scouts of America, with nearly 5.4 million members, is a public organization that may not discriminate based on sexual orientation. Attorneys for the Scouts will counter that the organization is private and entitled under the First Amendment to establish its own membership rules and code of behavior. ......"

Family Resource Council 4/25/00 Peter LaBarbera "……Of all the advances of the homosexual agenda, perhaps none is more disturbing than the penetration of the nation's schools with messages and programs designed to teach homosexuality as normative. In recent years, homosexual advocates have injected pro-homosexuality discussions into early grade classrooms - including kindergarten - in the name of "tolerance" and "diversity." In middle school and high school, youngsters are being encouraged to "come out" as "gay," "lesbian," "bisexual" or even "transgender" through pro-homosexuality school clubs. Meanwhile, activist teachers are incorporating homosexuality-affirming lessons in curricula and defending their "right" to be openly homosexual in the classroom - regardless of parental opposition. ......"

Family Resource Council 4/25/00 Peter LaBarbera "……Here are the top 10 strategies used by the burgeoning pro-homosexuality school movement to influence impressionable and often troubled students:
PROMOTE VICTIM STATUS; EXPLOIT "SAFETY" RHETORIC.......
START WITH VERY YOUNG CHILDREN…..
DISCUSS ALTERNATIVE "FAMILIES"/CELEBRATE "DIVERSITY." ......
ENACT SCHOOL NONDISCRIMINATION CODES.......
PROMOTE "COMING OUT" AND "GLBT PRIDE." Homosexual publications and researchers have reported on the phenomenon of young people "coming out" as homosexuals (and bisexuals and "transgenders") at younger and younger ages. According to several studies, the average "coming out" age for "gay/bisexual males" has plummeted from around 21 years old in 1979 to under 15 today, with young people identifying "gay" attractions at age 13.......
ENCOURAGE (AND FUND) PRO-HOMOSEXUALITY STUDENT CLUBS.......
ADOPT HOMOSEXUALITY-AFFIRMING CURRICULA. Pro-homosexuality teachers are using their position to "mainstream" homosexuality in the classroom. In high schools and colleges, the main tactic has been to stress that famous historical figures were "gay," even if there is no definitive proof for the claim. For example, Vassar English Professor Paul Russell, a homosexual, listed St. Augustine in his book "The Gay 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Gay Men and Lesbians," published in 1995 with research funding provided by the federal National Endowment for the Arts. Russell admitted that he could not prove his claim, but states, "What I am claiming here is that Augustine appears to have indulged, in his early life, in pleasures of the flesh, both with males and with females."…….Similarly, a pro-homosexuality agency in the Los Angeles Unified School District suggested that Abraham Lincoln was "gay," relying on the discredited accusation of pro-pedophilia University of Massachusetts Professor Charles Shively....... Consider these recommendations in a pro-"gay" report urging "subject-appropriate applications of lesbian/gay issues" in math classes:
"The use of same-sex couples in word problems;
"The use of gay/lesbian specific situations in explaining mathematical procedures (example: if 10,000 people marched in the Gay Pride March in 1990 and 25,000 in 1992, what was the average increase?)."......
USE OPENLY HOMOSEXUAL TEACHERS AND "ROLE MODELS."
PRO-HOMOSEXUALITY COUNSELING FOR TROUBLED YOUTH. Sadly, many young men and women are encouraged to embrace a "gay" sexual identity by their school counselors. The American School Counselor Association now endorses the claim of a natural and "unalterable" homosexual identity for "sexual minority" youth.......... At Groves High School in Birmingham, Mich., the alma mater of this writer, homosexual activist Frank Colasonti, Jr., is the school guidance counselor. The local Detroit-area media has championed Colasonti, founder of GLSEN's Detroit chapter, as an advocate for "gay" youth without critically examining the conflict-of-interest issues surrounding his position as a school counselor……. Obviously, most parents would prefer not to send their son or daughter to be "counseled" by someone who celebrates homosexuality, especially if the child were troubled over sexual matters. Parents would be wise to inquire about their school counselor's position on issues of sexual identity and sexual morality at the start of the school year.
EQUATE OPPOSITION WITH HATE, BIGOTRY AND PREJUDICE. Pro-family parents committed to grounding their children in traditional moral beliefs, including the ancient Judeo-Christian view that homosexual behavior is wrong and unnatural, are usually not surprised to learn that "gay" education activists have no respect for their position and in fact seek to undermine it. Homosexual education activists such as Kevin Jennings of GLSEN claim to respect biblical beliefs but assert that all children must be taught to live in a diverse world in which "gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders" are part of the mix. It would seem to follow, then, that schools should take special time to teach children to live with a number of other social problems and errant behaviors that have existed since time immemorial. Why not an all-day workshop on prostitution? Or an in-school seminar on adultery? The fact is that Jennings and his allies regard opposition to homosexuality, be it motivated by religion or practical concerns, as prejudice on a moral par with racism. They do not believe that homosexuals can change because they consider homosexuality a natural "orientation," akin to being left-handed. The record of homosexual education activists is replete with quotations equating the sincerely held beliefs of their foes with "hate," "intolerance," "bigotry" and "prejudice." It is better to approach all school conflicts over the homosexuality issue with this understanding than to count on "gay" activists to be respectful and reasonable. ......"

yahoo.com 5/4/00 "……The gay Arizona representative is determined to make the Army Reserve carry out its "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" proceeding against him. Arizona Representative Steve May (R-Phoenix) was hip-deep in the harried final days of the state legislative session and had just returned from training soldiers headed for Europe when he received a special delivery letter from the Army Reserve, asking him to resign his commission. The March 9 letter from Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel Colonel Harry B. Pearl notified May "that involuntary separation action has been initiated against you ... specifically because of homosexuality." As added encouragement the letter included a resignation letter ready for the gay lieutenant to sign -- all he would have to do to end the investigation that could lead to his discharge under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. ……"There is no honor in resignation," May said. …."

5/9/00 Alan Keyes "...... If we don't have a right to act according to our religious belief by forming judgments according to those beliefs about human conduct and behavior, then, exactly what does the free exercise of religion mean? Can the free exercise of religion really mean simply that I have the right to believe that God has ordained certain things to be right or wrong but that I can't act accordingly? ........ Surely free exercise means the freedom to act according to belief. And, yet, if we are not allowed to act according to belief when it comes to fundamental moral precepts, then what will be the moral implications of religion? None at all. ......... But if we accept an understanding of religious liberty that doesn't permit us to discriminate the wheat from the chaff in our own actions and those of others, haven't we in fact permitted the government to dictate to us a uniform approach to religion? ....... And, isn't that dictation of uniformity in religion exactly what the First Amendment intended to forbid?"

CNS 5/4/00 Susan Jones "…..A conservative group accuses NBC of jumping at the chance to "slam people of faith" by mocking the struggles faced by formerly homosexual men and women. In a statement, the Colorado-based Focus on the Family takes offense at this week's episode of "Will & Grace," in which one of the main characters attends a meeting of former homosexuals and successfully seduces the group's leader, proving the meeting is a hypocritical sham. "Once again, NBC has chosen to ridicule people with deeply-held biblical convictions and those who believe that change is possible," said Mike Haley, a former homosexual who now works with Focus on the Family. "This is just more evidence of the ever-increasing censorship of the ex-gay point of view," he said. ...Focus on the Family, echoing an argument presented by other conservative groups, says, "The gay mantra - tolerance - is completely ignored when it come to those with another point of view." ……Focus on the Family insists that for those who want it, change is possible, and it says shows such as "Will & Grace" are blatant attempts to discredit the ex-gay movement. ….."

American Family Association 5/5/00 Fred Jackson "…… Another campus-based Christian group is facing a threat of discipline because of its stand against homosexuality. The latest school to take aim at a Christian group is Middlebury College in Vermont. According to Religion Today, the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship is under fire for not allowing Ryan Palstrok, a homosexual, to hold a leadership position. A spokesman for the group, Kerra Struthers, says anyone can attend its meetings, but Palstrok cannot be a leader because he doesn't believe homosexuality is wrong. She says leadership within the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship is restricted to people who hold to traditional interpretation of the Bible--that it is divinely inspired and entirely trustworthy. Officials at Middlebury College apparently don't like that. Religion News says they are considering changing the language in the school's handbook so that campus groups cannot prohibit people from running for leadership positions--even if those individuals disagree with the group's stated beliefs. ……"

CNS News 5/4/00 Lawrence Morahan "……The Boston chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network has threatened to take legal action against a Massachusetts parent if he publishes a tape he made at a homosexual issues seminar in which state educators allegedly used graphic sexual language to describe homosexual sex to minors. Scott Whiteman, a parent and the executive director of the Parents Rights Coalition in Waltham, Massachusetts, secretly taped a seminar on "What They Didn't Tell You About Queer Sex and Sexuality in Health Class," a workshop for youth ages 14 - 21 at Tufts University on March 25. Whiteman told CNSNews.com that during the event, which was funded by the state Department of Education, educators gave children as young as 14 explicit descriptions of homosexual acts, complete with demonstrations and diagrams. ...... As proof of the graphic "Teach Out" event - which was run by the Boston chapter of GLSEN - Whiteman, a law student, tape-recorded two sessions and promised to distribute the recordings to parents around the country. …….. Whiteman also transcribed the tape and used extracts from it in a sworn affidavit he sent to Massachusetts district attorney, Martha Coakley, detailing what he witnessed and asking that the public servants in question be investigated for their alleged corruption of children. Whiteman has not received a reply from Coakley and calls to Coakley's office by CNSNews.com were not returned. ……."

The Associated Press 5/8/00 Richard Ostling "….. The chief policy-setting body of the United Methodist Church, America's third-largest religion, appears likely to reaffirm its traditional opposition to homosexuality and same-sex marriages. One committee has voted to maintain the policy that homosexual activity is "incompatible with Christian teaching." Committees have also voted to continue policies against ordaining active homosexuals and against union ceremonies for same-sex couples. Though the full body of 992 delegates could reject committee recommendations, activists on both sides said they expected current policies to be upheld. ……"

The Associated Press 5/8/00 "…… Professor Robert Nye likes to shake people up intellectually, and finds that nothing does it faster than sex. Nye, the Horning Professor of Humanities at Oregon State University, has to warn his students that his course is X-rated. He's an internationally recognized expert on the history of sexuality. He focuses his study on people and practices that, at various times, mainstream society has labeled deviant. Homosexuality. Fetishism. Pornography. ……… In graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, Nye specialized in French history. It was the 1960s, and his interest in politics and activism drew his attention to radical groups and ideas and how society defines the fringe. "I began to realize my interests lay not so much with what the mainstream politicians or thinkers were doing or saying, but in what was happening on the margins of society," he says. His interests ultimately led him to the study of masculinity and sexuality. ………"

The New York Daily News 5/9/00 John Leo "….. Tufts University in Medford, Mass., is punishing a campus evangelical group for refusing to allow practicing homosexuals into its leadership positions. A student tribunal, the Tufts Community Union Judiciary, voted to derecognize the Tufts Christian Fellowship. This means that the evangelicals won't be able to reserve rooms for meetings, publicize events in campus listings or even use bulletin boards. They are forbidden to use the Tufts name and will lose their share of student activity monies doled out to all student groups, some $5,700 a year. One administrator was quoted as telling the group, "I don't mean to get dramatic or anything, but essentially, on the Tufts campus, you do not exist." ………. At a late-night meeting that the evangelicals were not told about, the judiciary tribunal decided, without a hearing, that the fellowship was violating campus anti-discrimination policy by not allowing Julie Catalano, a bisexual member of the group, into a leadership position next year. The fellowship says it knew that Catalano had been "exploring her sexuality" when she joined the group three years ago, but she accepted the group's teaching on homosexuality and apparently had no trouble with it. ……"

WorldNetDaily 5/8/00 Frank York "…… Three HIV instructors in Massachusetts are at the center of a growing controversy after reportedly conducting sexually explicit workshops for teenagers and holding sessions to train teachers in the art of injecting positive homosexual themes into public school materials -- down to the elementary school level. ……… Two state employees in the HIV division of the Department of Education and an HIV consultant with the Department of Public Health led a March 25 "Teach Out" held at Tufts University. The event was sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, or GLSEN. ……. Teachers who attended the conference received state development credits for their participation. The Massachusetts Department of Education provides funding to GLSEN through its "Safe Schools Program." ….."

WorldNetDaily 5/8/00 Frank York "…… Scott Whiteman, with the Massachusetts-based Parents Rights Coalition, attended several of these workshops and secretly recorded them. GLSEN has since threatened him with legal action for doing so, claiming that all participants at the "Teach Out" had to agree to a policy of confidentiality. According to Brian Camenker, president of the Parents Rights Coalition, the idea of any confidentiality requirement is a fabrication. …….."There was nothing told either verbally or in print in any of the literature surrounding the event about not tape recording it. There was absolutely nothing about this -- and believe me, we've been through absolutely everything," Camenker stated. ……."

WorldNetDaily 5/8/00 Frank York "…… Whiteman says he was shocked to learn what state employees were teaching children. Two of the instructors, Margot Abels and Julie Netherland, are listed as HIV counselors, while Michael Gaucher is listed as an HIV consultant. These instructors travel to schools throughout Massachusetts conducting HIV workshops for teens. According to Whiteman, in one "Teach Out" workshop entitled, "What They Didn't Tell You About Queer Sex & Sexuality in Health Class: A Workshop For Youth Only, Ages 14-21," the three instructors encouraged teens to openly discuss various homosexual sex acts in the most explicit manner. …….. Abels and Gaucher, according to Whiteman, both discussed the practice of "fisting" -- putting one's hand inside the anus or vagina of a sexual partner. Gaucher taught the children how to make a fist. He also discussed the pros and cons of ingesting male body fluid during oral sex. Abels told the teens that "fisting" often gets a bad rap. He said that it was "an experience of letting somebody into your body that you want to be that close and intimate with." ……… According to Whiteman, the entire session ran 55 minutes before there was any mention of condoms or "safer sex." When condoms were discussed, the teachers pointed out that teens could make an "informed decision" not to use condoms. ….."

WorldNetDaily 5/8/00 Frank York "…… Whiteman says the conference also included workshops entitled:
* Ask the Transsexuals
* Early Childhood Educators: How to Decide Whether to Come Out or Not
* Lesbian Avengers: How to Promote Queer-Friendly Activism in Your Schools and in Your Lives
* Diesel Dykes and Lipstick Lesbians: Defining and Exploring Butch/Femme Identity
* The Religious Wrong: Dealing Effectively with Opposition in Your Community
* Starting a Gay/Straight Alliance in Your School …."

WorldNetDaily 5/8/00 Frank York "…… According to PRC's Camenker, "In the Boston press and elsewhere, GLSEN officials don't deny these things happened. They stand behind the conference. They're trying to say these kids were just asking questions and being told honest answers. This is a complete lie. The tapes prove that beyond a reasonable doubt." ……….. Camenker added, "If the rest of the country wants to know where the homosexual movement is going, all they have to do is look at Massachusetts. Homosexuals claim that Massachusetts is their model for the rest of the country. They're very proud of the fact that they've been able to make so much progress and use this thing about 'safety' [for homosexual teens] as their entree into schools. It's all bogus." …….."

WorldNetDaily 5/8/00 Frank York "…… In the PRC letter, Whiteman noted that the instructors at the "Teach Out" may have violated several state laws that criminalize the enticing of a person into prostitution or sexual intercourse; inducing a person under 18 to engage in sexual intercourse; and distributing materials harmful to minors. The PRC has not heard back from the district attorney, and Camenker tells WorldNetDaily that no one wants to talk about the "Teach Out" or to take any action against what was taught. ……"

WorldNetDaily 5/8/00 Frank York "…… Julie Netherland said she is forbidden by department policy from speaking directly to the press and referred WND to Darrell Pressley, the director of media relations in the Massachusetts Department of Education. According to Pressley, the department is investigating what was said or not said at the "Teach Out" by Netherland, Gaucher and Abels. The Department of Education did not fund or sponsor the event, he said, and the HIV teachers volunteered their time for the "Teach Out." …… Pressley agreed that it would be a violation of policy for HIV teachers to tell children about fisting, ingesting body fluids and anal intercourse. He also noted, however, that the Department of Education does have programs that discuss "safety" in schools for homosexuals and health issues for gays and lesbians. ..."

WorldNetDaily 5/8/00 Frank York "…… WorldNetDaily also interviewed Alan Safran, deputy commissioner of education with the Massachusetts Department of Education. According to Safran, the department had no involvement in the "Teach Out," other than two employees presenting workshops. ……. When asked if these presenters would be in violation of department policy for teaching about fisting or anal intercourse in a public school, Safran responded: "It wouldn't have happened in a public school setting. It's not what our people do in a public school setting. Sure, if this had been done by our people in a public school, it would have been outside of their parameters of what the job is." ……. Safran noted that "our people don't intend to have these workshops in the future." He said he wants to determine -- by listening to the tape -- what level of involvement his employees had in the conference. "Let's see what our people did and said and the context -- if they were asking the questions or if they were responding to questions." ……. According to PRC's Camenker, the homosexual activist agenda is being promoted in the public schools through the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth and the Safe Schools Program -- two programs originated under former Republican Governor William Weld's administration. Weld's successor, current Republican Gov. Paul Celluci, has increased funding for the gay and lesbian youth commission. ……."

Massachusetts News 5/3/00 "……. The Massachusetts Department of Education has finally been caught with proof that it is teaching graphic and explicit sex to teenagers. It's been an open secret for years that the state has been encouraging teenagers XXXX both heterosexual and homosexual XXXX to be sexually active, but they have always denied it. …….. However, the Department of Education has now been forced, according to a story in the Boston Globe, to investigate the role of its employees at a meeting on March 25 where instructions about homosexual sex were given at a large conference which was attended by teenagers, some as young as 14-years-old. The key sponsor of the event was the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network of Boston, known as GLSEN. All high school students were invited to attend the meeting which was held at Tufts University. Students were bussed in from around the state. The Department can't deny its involvement this time because there is a tape recording of what was said by its employees. These are the same employees who regularly speak to schools across the state. ……."

Massachusetts News 5/3/00 "……. The officials are trying everything they can think of to keep the information from reaching the citizens. GSLEN even told the Globe that it was "illegal" to have taped the public discussions. But if that group believes that such a veiled threat is going to keep the lid on what happened at that meeting of teenagers, they have no idea how strongly the citizens feel about this type of conduct. It's amusing that the Globe wrote that the employees of the Department "allegedly" taught graphic sex to the students. They have run out of "allegedlies." The proof is irrefutable. ….."

Ft Worth Star Telegram 5/3/00 Mark Davis "……. The U.S. Supreme Court has one key question to ponder: Do the Boy Scouts of America have a right to exclude homosexuals as Scout leaders?
It is not about whether gays are good or bad.
It is not about the gay political agenda.
It is not about the Bible.
But those doing most of the visible pontificating are beating those drums instead of the actual question before the high court. ………. Whatever the Boy Scouts' motivation may be, that is completely their business. The rest of us can debate ancillary issues until the cows come home, but it all comes down to one thing: Does a private organization have the right to set its own rules? This is called freedom of association, and the answer is "yes." …….. This is why a country club can be all-white. Or all-black, if it wishes. This is why a Jewish community center does not have to accept Buddhists as board members. These are private entities. ……Restaurants and stores are private businesses, but because they accommodate the public, they are obliged to welcome all. The Boy Scouts are no such thing. They have a right to set rules, policies and criteria for admission. ……"

AFA 5/3/00 "…… A report from Los Angeles says the British homosexual TV series, "Queer as Folk," is headed for American television sets. The Hollywood Reporter says Showtime, owned by Viacom and one of the major sponsors of this past weekend's homosexual march on Washington, has ordered 22 episodes, including a two-hour pilot, to premiere later this year. …… At least one of the male characters will be a teenager ….."

Massachusetts News 5/2/00 Brian Camenker and Scott Whiteman "…… Massachusetts Department of Education employees described the pleasures of homosexual sex to a group of high school students at a state-sponsored workshop on March 25 at Tufts. "Fisting [forcing one's entire hand into another person's rectum or vagina] often gets a bad rap....[It's] an experience of letting somebody into your body that you want to be that close and intimate with...[and] to put you into an exploratory mode." ….."

Massachusetts News 5/2/00 Brian Camenker and Scott Whiteman "…… Last year a mother from the western suburbs joined some other parents and went to the State House to appeal to the Governor's office. She was becoming frantic. Her son at the local high school had been told by his musician friends how "cool" it was at the school's Gay/Straight Alliance club meetings. She soon found out that the club had watched at least one R-rated video of two boys having a love affair. She discovered some provocative handouts in his room. He became detached, and she suspected that he was experimenting with homosexual relationships. The principal would not look into it, nor would any other officials. It was suggested that maybe she was homophobic. ………. No one from the Governor's office would speak to her or the other parents. A Department of Public Health official finally listened to them but afterwards would not return her calls. Later the Boston homosexual newspaper, Bay Windows, published a blistering article warning that bigoted, homophobic parents were trying to endanger the money for the state's gay school clubs. ….."

Massachusetts News 5/2/00 Brian Camenker and Scott Whiteman "…… On March 25, the Massachusetts Department of Education, the Governor's Commission, and GLSEN co-sponsored a statewide conference at Tufts University called "Teach-Out." Among the goals were to build more GSAs in Massachusetts and expand homosexual teaching into the lower grades. Scores of gay-friendly teachers and administrators attended. They received state "professional development credits." Teenagers and children as young as 12 were encouraged to come from around the state, and many were bussed in from their home districts. Homosexual activists from across the country were also there. ………. To say that the descriptions below, of workshops and presentations of this state-sponsored event for educators and children, are "every parent's nightmare" does not do them justice. It is beyond belief that this could be happening at all. One music teacher who attended out of curiosity said that she could not sleep for several nights afterwards and had nightmares about it……"

The Detroit News 5/3/00 Cathy Young "……. Everywhere you look, gay-related issues are in the news. Vermont legislators give a green light to "civil unions" for same-sex couples. The Supreme Court hears arguments on whether anti-discrimination laws can force the Boy Scouts to accept gay scoutmasters. Closer to home, there´s a strangely muted controversy over a University of Michigan course scheduled for Fall 2000, titled "How To Be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation." While the syllabus for the course is still a work in progress, it will examine the "role of initiation in the formation of gay identity" by focusing on such topics as Broadway musicals, drag, writings by gay male authors, the "muscle culture" and interior design. The course description says the class "will constitute an experiment in the very process of initiation that it hopes to understand." ………. This has conservative groups such as the Midland-based American Family Association of Michigan crying foul. "How to Be Gay," they argue, is a blatant attempt to recruit young men into the gay lifestyle at taxpayer expense. The AFA unsuccessfully tried to get the university to cancel the course. …….."

World Tribune 5/3/00 "……. The Arab world, ruled by conservative mores, has the lowest rate of Aids in the world. A CIA report on AIDS said the Middle East and North Africa region has the lowest HIV infection rate. "Conservative social mores, climatic factors, and the high level of health spending in the oil-producing states tend to limit some globally prevalent diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and malaria," the report, released on Monday, said. But the CIA said another reason for the low rate of AIDS is "probably due in part to above-average underreporting because of the stigma associated with the disease in Muslim societies." The report, entitled "The Global Infections Disease Threat and Its Implications for the United States," was released as the National Security Council deemed AIDS as a national security issue for the United States. White House Spokesman Joe Lockhart cited what he termed the "staggering" and "destabilizing" numbers of deaths AIDS is causing in some African countries. "They have an impact on us," he said. "We have an interest in Africa, as far as our own national security, and we need to look at this problem -- as the NSC has done, very much so this year, but going back over the last couple of years as a national security issue." The CIA report, completed in January, said "new and reemerging infectious diseases will pose a rising global health threat and will complicate U.S. and global security over the next 20 years. ......The CIA report said that terrorist might seek to spread diseases such as AIDS and malaria in biological attacks……"

Massachusetts News 3/5/00 Ed Oliver "….. A Massachusetts mother who encouraged her homosexual son's lifestyle which resulted in his dying of AIDS is talking at schools around the state to encourage students and mothers to follow the same course. She appeared in March at a program for sophomore students at Assabet Valley Regional High School, Marlboro. "You have to feel sorry for this woman who lost her son so tragically," said one of the parents who attended the program, Susan Greenleaf, "but the sad thing is, she is giving a message that could harm instead of help more children." The woman, Inez Folsom, said her son hated himself for what he was doing. He wanted to change. ...,"

EWTN 5/2/00 "…….Officials of several major church groups have threatened to sever their ties with the Boy Scouts of America if the US Supreme Court forces the group to allow homosexuals in the ranks of volunteer scoutmasters, according to court briefs filed in the case last week. ……. In a friend-of-the-court brief, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, said it would "withdraw from Scouting if it were compelled to accept openly homosexual Scout leaders." The group was joined in the brief by the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, the General Commission on United Methodist Men of the United Methodist Church, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and the National Council of Young Israel. The religious groups, as well as others voicing support for their position, represent the vast majority of Boy Scouts in the US. However, other religious groups have expressed their support for requiring acceptance of openly homosexual scoutmasters, including the Unitarian Universalist Association, the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ Board for Homeland Ministries, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, New Jersey. ….."

Tampa Bay Online (AP) 5/2/00 Richard Ostling "….. The Rev. Gregory Dell and Patricia Miller are on opposite sides of the battle raging within the United Methodist Church over homosexuality. Dell belongs to a group seeking to eliminate anti-homosexual doctrines from the nation's third-largest religious body. Miller is among those resisting such a move. The two agree on one thing: The issue has caused a division so deep within the church that there is talk of a schism among its 9.6 million members worldwide. As 992 delegates gather in Cleveland today for the beginning of a crucial policy-setting conference, some think any decision on gays and lesbians may lead to defections. ``After this General Conference, someone will be leaving the denomination,'' said Dell of Chicago's In All Things Charity. ……"

Salt Lake Tribune 4/26/00 Mark Eddington "….. If the Boy Scouts of America is forced to accept gays as scoutmasters, the LDS Church will withdraw from the organization and take more than 400,000 Scouts with it. That's the contention of Salt Lake City attorney Von G. Keetch, who has filed a brief with the Supreme Court supporting the Boy Scouts' ban on homosexuals on behalf of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and four other religious organizations. ……The LDS Church is the single largest sponsor of Scouting units -- more than 30,000 -- in the nation. That amounts to 400,000-plus Scouts. The United Methodist Church, with more than 424,000 Scouts, has the most youths involved. The Catholic Church sponsors 355,000 Scouts. In the brief, Keetch said no final decisions have been made, but all the religious organizations could follow the Mormons' lead and bolt from Scouting if the ban on gays is struck down….. "

Miami Herald 4/24/00 "…..Sex and politics apparently don't mix in Iowa, as prosecutors there will charge sex columnist Dan Savage with two counts of voter fraud that could land him behind bars for up to six years. Savage's attorney, Mark Weinhardt, said his client faces a felony charge and one misdemeanor count for using a temporary Des Moines address to vote in the Iowa caucuses in January. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; the misdemeanor has a maximum penalty of a year in jail. Savage, who pens a syndicated sex advice strip and whose work has appeared in several national publications, was in the Hawkeye state representing the online magazine Salon.com, for which he eventually wrote a five-part article, "Stalking Gary Bauer." The stories were about how Savage, a gay liberal, worked undercover inside the campaign headquarters of the old-school Christian conservative. In order to achieve this, the Seattle-based Savage had to register as a voter in Iowa. ….."

New York Times 4/27/00 Linda Greenhouse "……The question before the Supreme Court today was whether the Boy Scouts have a constitutional right to exclude gay members, but the justices did not seem particularly interested in either Boy Scout policy or the future of gay rights. Rather, what clearly concerned the court were the implications of ruling for one side or the other. If the Boy Scouts cannot exclude gays, can they still exclude girls, the justices wanted to know. Would a Jewish social group be forced to accept non-Jewish members, or a gay organization to include heterosexuals? …….. More generally, the justices asked, if an organization deems a particular kind of exclusivity to be central to its identity, must courts take that assertion at face value? If not, by what standard are they to judge it? If so, might that not be the equivalent of giving a free pass from the anti-discrimination commands of civil rights law? ……."

Original Sources 4/28/00 Mary Mostert "……. Could a Homosexual be a Good Boy Scout Leader? The United States Supreme Court has before it a case which will decide whether or not the Boy Scouts of America have a "right" to bar homosexuals from serving as troop leaders, "role models in a organization that teaches its members to be morally straight." What is at state is the trust of parents in Scoutmaster and the survival of the Boy Scouts of America. …….. Justice Scalia asked, noting that the Scouts think homosexuality is immoral, "Why must the scouts accept as a leader someone who embodies a contradiction of their message?" Evan Wolfson, the lawyer for the former assistant scoutmaster who sued when ousted from the Scouts in 1990, responded that the "Scouts are not primarily an anti-gay organization" and therefore a homosexual scoutmaster did not "burden the group's message." …….. While that was going on, one of the leading sponsors of Boy Scout Troops, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told the U.S. Supreme Court that it will withdraw from the Boy Scouts of America, which would take more than 30,000 units with 400,000 Scouts out with it, if Scouting is forced to accept homosexual scoutmasters. The brief was filed also in behalf of the Catholics, Methodists, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the National Council of Young Israel. Significantly, those groups also provide perhaps up to half of the scout leadership in America and represent over 20% of the Boy Scouts in America. ……. The Boy Scouts say that being forced to accept homosexual scout leaders violates its rights of free speech and free association under the first Amendment of the Constitution. ……"

APB news 5/11/00 Valerie Kalfrin "….. SAN DIEGO (APBnews.com) -- A San Diego County jury has convicted a man of molesting three sheep, two of them fatally, in an open-air pen last summer. James Donald Ray, 39, was found guilty Monday of felony animal cruelty and misdemeanor animal sexual assault after a weeklong trial, prosecutors said. The brown-haired, blue-eyed man broke down repeatedly while testifying about his predilection for animals, also known as zoophilism or bestiality. "It was always a deep, dark secret that he had," public defender Deborah Kirkwood told APBnews.com today. "He really wants help...."

National Post 5/11/00 Neil Seeman "…… Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the wildly popular American radio host and indefatigable champion of orthodox Jewish ethics, has been censured by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) for on-air remarks that the regulatory authority claimed could trigger violence against homosexuals. ……….. The CBSC, the national self-regulatory body that administers professional broadcast codes on behalf of Canada's private broadcasters, ruled yesterday that Dr. Schlessinger's consistent characterization of the sexual behaviour of homosexuals as "abnormal," "aberrant," "deviant," "disordered," "dysfunctional" and a "biological error" were in violation of the human rights provision of the voluntary Code of Ethics of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. ……."

LewRockwell.com 5/29/00 Bill Barnwell "……For years conservatives and devout religious individuals have been lectured and scorned by the media and cultural elite for their supposed intolerance and hatred. No group has been more vicious in the war against those who adhere to traditional values than the collective gay rights movement. According to this crowd, conservative Christians, Orthodox Jews, Muslims, and other mean and nasty groups are said to be the epitome of hatred and ignorance, because they refuse to renounce their religious beliefs regarding homosexuality. …….. The battle cry of these liberal groups is Celebrate Diversity! Anyone who has spent one week in a public university or politically correct corporation has had this phrase shoved down his throat a million times. What is quite interesting is that the only celebration is of liberal ideas and orthodoxy. Those heretics who do not accept our progressive societys beliefs on feminism, forced integration, abortion, and homosexuality are to be eternally driven out of the liberal Eden and subject to a lifetime of ridicule and disdain for their sins. ….."

Catholic Telecommunications 5/30/00 "……British government plans to lift the ban on men kissing in public have been opposed by a Catholic women's group. The proposal is part of the package of sex law reforms which was announced earlier this week. While the National Board of Catholic Women (NBCW) welcomed the "long overdue" changes which would protect men from rape, it remains opposed to proposals which would allow men to kiss in public -- currently considered an act of indecency. NBCW President, Freda Lambert, told The Universe newspaper: "We do not oppose homosexuality, but men kissing in public is a homosexual practice and we do oppose it. It would make us feel uncomfortable." ….."

Paul Sperry 5/11/00 "…….At the same time, the president had "a special box" installed on his and his top aides' phones so that their phone conversations and meetings could not be recorded using the same technology, says the technician who ran the White House phone operations for several years. ... Despite the high-level safeguards, the Secret Service objected to the phone eavesdropping devices, arguing they posed a serious national security risk. ......... The changes were made after Clinton, in a surprise move, hired AT&T to replace a five-year-old phone switch in the White House, along with the software and all the desk phone hardware, soon after he took office. ......All the changes, which included turning off software features that record the dialer of overseas calls, were completed by 1996. The switch was brought on line in 1994. ……" http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_sperry_news/20000511_xnspy_secret_whi.shtml

Freeper Ed_in_NJ "…"The switch was brought on line in 1994."
Sharlott Donovan was "relieved of duty" 1/31/95.
She was found dead on 2/29/96. ......"

SEXUAL CONDUCT

SEXUAL CONDUCT

Associated Press 5/31/00 Kim Curtis "…… In exchange for a four-year commitment to the Air Force, Dr. John Hensala got top-flight medical training at Northwestern University and Yale, unburdened by the costs of tuition and books. Then, seven months before the psychiatrist was to report for full-time military duty, he announced to his superiors that he is gay. He was promptly discharged and billed $70,000 for the cost of his education. …….. The military has made similar demands of dozens of other gays who have been ousted. But Hensala is challenging the demand for reimbursement in court, in what could be the first such lawsuit against the Pentagon. …… The Air Force said Hensala deliberately timed his announcement to get out of his military obligation. But Hensala, 35, said he did not know he was gay when he signed up. ….."

Newsday.com 5/31/00 Will Lester AP "…..Just over half of Americans say gay couples should not be allowed to marry, according to an Associated Press poll. But just as many say gay partners should have some legal rights of a married couple -- such as inheritance, Social Security benefits and health insurance. More women than men feel gay marriage is OK. So do more Democrats than Republicans, more young people than old, more people who feel gays are born with that sexual orientation. ……"

Sierra Times 5/30/00 Ray Thomas "…….It's billed as "a safe place for youths to get their questions about their sexuality answered." Sounds innocent, doesn't it? Just a place where kids can go to find out about sex, and you know parents don't want to talk about it, don't you?……. But that's not what it is. The workshop is called: "What They Didn't Tell You About Queer Sex and Sexuality in Health Class: Workshop for Youth Only, Ages 14-21". This program is presented by the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLESEN), who have received funds for seven years to run the "Safe Schools Program" to promote "tolerance" on high school campuses. That means it is sponsored by the Department of Education (DOE) with our tax money. Teaching children from ages as low as 12 (no matter what they say) about gay sex; that it is a "good thing," that it is not a perversion, just a "different way," and discussing graphically how to do it --- with tax money. ......"

Sierra Times 5/30/00 Ray Thomas "…….Gay sex is not okay. It is perverted, and if you engage in it, you are a pervert. It is not something that is "natural." But that's okay with me, you're free to be a pervert if you're not bothering anybody else with it. But when you try to teach this perversion to my children, and you do it with the help of government money, that makes me damned mad. Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll angrily said that he is investigating the role of two Department of Education staffers and a consultant who hosted a "prurient gay-sex discussion" with students as young as 14. He is quoted as saying: "The workshops were of a prurient nature, and not educational, and what we heard suggests that the discussion contributed absolutely nothing to the students' understanding of how to avoid AIDS and HIV." ….."

Sierra Times 5/30/00 Ray Thomas "…….GLESEN have appealed to the courts and Judge Allen van Gestel obligingly placed an illegal "national gag order" on any distribution of this tape on the grounds that the taping was illegal because it was done "in secret." His order even prevents the media from playing or even discussing this tape. He seems to be more worried about his children being taped than about them being taught gay sex in secret paid for with tax money." He recently made his temporary order permanent. …..I really shouldn't have to instruct a judge on the niceties of the law. First of all, he has no authority outside of Massachusetts based on a Massachusetts law against "secret taping" that applies to us, but not to police authorities. Furthermore, such an order is "prior restraint" according to the U. S. Constitution and patently violates the First Amendment. He might be able to stop individuals from discussing or circulating this tape based on a stretch of the law allowing judges to place gag orders on cases involving child abuse to "protect the child.," but there is no way he can stop the news media from writing or talking about this tape.. They tried in the "Pentagon Papers" case, and found out they could not do it. In any case, parts of this tape were broadcast on WTKK-FM (96.9) and created a "firestorm of controversy." Many stories about it have appeared in Massachusetts newspapers and, I presume, on radio and television. So "the genie is out of the bottle." The world knows and can discuss it, independent of the tape. ….."

Sierra Times 5/30/00 Ray Thomas "…….The workshop opened by the three public employees asking the children "how they knew, as gay people, whether or not they've had sex." Questions were thrown around the room about whether oral sex was "sex," to which the Department of Public Health employee stated, "If that's not sex, then the number of times I've had sex has dramatically decreased; from a mountain to a valley, baby." Eventually the answer presented itself, and it was determined that whenever an orifice was filled with genitalia, then sex had occurred. [The definition of "sex" promoted by the president of the United states notwithstanding] The Department of Public Health employee, Michael Gaucher, had the following exchange with one student, who appeared to be about 16 years old:
Michael Gaucher: "What orifices are we talking about?"
Student: (hesitation)
Michael Gaucher: "Don't be shy, honey; you can do it." [No indication of the sex of the student]
Student: "Your mouth."
Michael Gaucher: "Okay."
Student: "Your ass."
Michael Gaucher: "There you go."
Student: "Your pussy. That kind of place."
But since sex occurred "when an orifice was filled," the next question was how lesbians could "have sex." Margot Abels discussed whether a dildo had to be involved; when it was too big or too small; and what homosexual resources students could consult to get similar questions answered. ….."

Sierra Times 5/30/00 Ray Thomas "…….Then the children were asked to role-play. One student was to act the part of "a young lesbian who's really enraptured with another woman, and it's really coming down to the wire and you're thinking about having sex." The other student played the "hip GSA (gay, straight alliance) lesbian advisor, who you feel you can talk to." The "counseling" included discussions of lesbian sex, oral-vaginal contact, or "carpet munching," as one student put it. The student asked whether it would smell like fish. ... "

Sierra Times 5/30/00 Ray Thomas "…….At this point, a child of about 16 asked why someone would want to do that. He stated that if the hand were pulled out quickly, the whole thing didn't sound very appealing to him. Margot Abels was sure to point out that although fisting "often gets a really bad rap," it usually isn't about the pain, "not that we're putting that down." Margot Abels informed him and the class that "fisting" was "an experience of letting somebody into your body that you want to be that close and intimate with." When a child asked the question, "Why would someone do this?" Margot Abels provided a comfortable response to the children in order to "put them into an exploratory mode."

Sierra Times 5/30/00 Ray Thomas "……."Should you spit after you suck another boy (or a man)?" Michael Gaucher read the following from a card: "Cum and calories: Spit versus swallow and the health concerns." Gaucher informed the children that although he didn't know the calorie count of male ejaculation, he has "heard that it's sweeter if people eat celery." He then asked the boys, "Is it rude not to swallow?" Many of the high school boys mumbled "No," but one about the age of 16 said emphatically, "Oh no!" One boy, again about the age of 16, offered his advice on avoiding HIV/AIDS transmission while giving oral sex by not brushing your teeth or eating course food for four hours before you "go down on a guy," "because then you probably don't want to be swallowing cum."

Sierra Times 5/30/00 Ray Thomas "…….Another question asked was whether oral sex was better with tongue rings. A 16 year old student murmured, "Yes," to which all of the children laughed. Michael Gaucher said, "There you have it" and stated something to the effect that the debate has ended. ….."

Sierra Times 5/30/00 Ray Thomas "…….After reviewing a few of the campaigns, Margot Abels described the project she works on. The "Gay/Straight Alliance HIV Education Project" goes to five different schools each year conducting up to eight "HIV prevention sessions" in that school's gay club. These same presenters who just told a group of children how to properly position their hands for "fisting" were now telling a room full of educators that they would visit their schools and conduct their workshops for their students.

Sierra Times 5/30/00 Ray Thomas "…….The Sidney Borum Community Health Center table was giving out a cassette sized "pocket sex" kit, which included two condoms, two antiseptic "moist" towelettes, and six bandages, which were for "when the sex got really rough" according to the high school aged volunteer behind the desk. There was a countless supply of condoms supplied by both Sidney Borum and Planned Parenthood, all of which were for the taking by any child who wanted them. One could see children as young as 12 or 13 at the conference participating and receiving "information" and materials.

Sierra Times 5/30/00 Ray Thomas "……. Some of the other workshops at this taxpayer-funded conference for educators are more unusual. For instance:
Ask the Transsexuals
Early childhood educators: How to decide whether to come out or not
Getting Gay Issues Included in Elementary School Staff
Development, Curriculum Development, and the PTA
Lesbian Avengers: How to Promote Queer Friendly Activism in Your Schools and in Your Lives
Strategies and Curriculum Ideas for Addressing GLBT Issues in a High School English Curriculum
The Struggles and Triumphs of Including Homosexuality in a Middle School Curriculum
Teachers Coming Out
Youth Coming Out in High School
Diesel Dykes and Lipstick Lesbians: Defining and Exploring Butch/Femme Identity
The Religious Wrong: Dealing Effectively with Opposition in Your Community [A patent condemnation of religion]
A Strategy to Educate Faculty: Lexington HS's GSA Presentation to Faculty
From Lesbos to Stonewall: Incorporating Sexuality into a World History Curriculum
Starting a Gay/Straight Alliance in Your School ……."

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 5/29/00 Rowan Scarborough "…..The San Francisco Unified School District bans military recruiters on campus as a protest against arms spending in general and the Pentagon's homosexual ban in particular. Up the coast, the Portland, Ore., school board takes the same stance. In fact, over 1,000 high schools nationwide bar Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps recruiters from visiting students in school. The off-limits comes at a bad time for the 1.4 million armed forces. It is having a historically tough time attracting the number, and the quality, of recruits it needs. Barring recruiters from its No. 1 hunting ground only makes matters worse……."

Proctor and Gamble Website & Gay Pride Parade Website 5/27/00 "….We've decided not to sponsor the Dr. Laura Schlessinger show and we'd like to explain why. P&G serves nearly 5 billion consumers worldwide and we respect the diversity of views they represent on a variety of subjects. We do not oppose or endorse Dr. Laura Schlessinger or her broad range of opinions. Likewise, our decision in no way is an endorsement or statement against any particular group's point of view. …… Dr. Laura's success on TV is not dependent on P&G. Our withdraw was not based on "votes" for or against her show. We're simply seeking a positive, non-controversial environment in which to advertise our brands. ……"

U.S. News & World Report 6/5/00 John Leo "….Jerry Kennedy, a gay resident assistant at the University of Georgia, reported he had been the target of nine hate crimes over a period of three years, including three acts of arson. But during questioning, Kennedy admitted that he had set the fires.......Caught in the act. Two weeks after the murder of Matthew Shepard, a lesbian student at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota said two men shouted antigay slurs at her and then slashed her face. Outraged students raised nearly $12,000 as a reward for information about her attackers. Then the student confessed she had made up the story and cut her own face. In a similar incident, a lesbian student at Eastern New Mexico University said she had been attacked after her name was included with the names of seven professors on an antigay "hit list" posted at a local laundromat. Police arrested her after a surveillance camera at the laundromat showed her posting the list……."

EWTN News Brief 5/26/00 "……British government plans to lift the ban on men kissing in public have been opposed by a Catholic women's group. The proposal is part of the package of sex law reforms which was announced earlier this week. While the National Board of Catholic Women (NBCW) welcomed the "long overdue" changes which would protect men from rape, it remains opposed to proposals which would allow men to kiss in public -- currently considered an act of indecency. ……NBCW President, Freda Lambert, told The Universe newspaper: "We do not oppose homosexuality, but men kissing in public is a homosexual practice and we do oppose it. It would make us feel uncomfortable." ….."

AP Breaking via MyRightStart.com 5/29/00 Frances D’Emilio "…..Rome's mayor said Monday he was yanking the city's sponsorship of July's Gay Pride events, which the Vatican doesn't want taking place during the Holy Year called by Pope John Paul II. The decision follows an appeal by a top Italian cardinal to move the event elsewhere. Premier Giuliano Amato has called the scheduling of Gay Pride week during Holy Year "inopportune" and added that "unfortunately" Italy's constitution doesn't allow the gathering to be banned. Leftist Mayor Francesco Rutelli, citing events like a gay fashion show to be held near a church, said the city was withdrawing official backing of the event although it would still "be the guarantor of the gays' freedom to demonstrate." Right-wing politicians, including the president of Lazio region, which encompasses Rome, have demanded the events, which range from sports activities to cultural appointments, be scrapped. ….."

AFA 5/30/00 Randy Sharp "……Books exploring father/daughter incest and sex with animals are not enough for Amazon.com. The world's largest on-line bookseller now offers a book which promotes the repulsive act of men having sex with young boys. Understanding Loved Boys and Boylovers attempts to portray men who prey on young boys as "sincere, concerned, loving human beings who simply have a sexual orientation that is neither understood nor accepted by most others." ……. "They can call themselves anything they want, but the truth of the matter is that they are child molesters, pure and simple," said AFA Vice-President Tim Wildmon. "Anyone who uses children to gratify themselves sexually is socially and spiritually perverted. For Amazon.com to sell a book justifying such actions is repulsive and irresponsible." ……"

BBC 5/30/00 "…….Gay rights leaders in Italy have criticised a decision by the Mayor of Rome, Francesco Rutelli, to cancel the city council's support of a World Gay Pride festival that was due to take place in July. Mr Rutelli was responding to moves by the Vatican and the Italian Prime Minister, Giuliano Amato, to have the event staged elsewhere. Mr Amato told parliament last week that Gay Pride celebrations in Rome were "inappropriate" during the Holy Year called by Pope John Paul II to celebrate 2000 years since the birth of Jesus Christ. ...... The Mario Mieli gay cultural group, one of the organisers, said the events would go ahead with or without authorisation. …….. One Italian gay rights leader, Franco Grillini, said Italy had to choose whether to be a free and democratic country or a Vatican serfdom. ……. Some opponents say they fear the Gay Pride celebrations will turn into a demonstration against the Pope, who has defended the Vatican's condemnation of homosexual acts. ......:

Yahoo 5/23/00 Steve Gorman "…..Gay and lesbian activists are stepping up their campaign against talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger, running full-page newspaper ads Wednesday urging advertisers to withhold support for her radio program and upcoming TV show. The ads, slated to run Wednesday in the Los Angeles Times and New York Times, feature several controversial quotes from Schlessinger's syndicated columns and broadcasts, including her references to homosexuality as ``deviant'' and single mothers as ''immoral.'' The headline for the spot reads: ``Ad time for 'Dr. Laura' is for sale. Here's what you're buying.'' The spots were purchased by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and are backed by several other groups, including the National Organization for Women (NOW), the National Mental Health Association and People For the American Way. ……."

Massachusetts News 5/25/00 "…….Judge Allan van Gestel continued his gag order against Brian Camenker and Scott Whiteman of the Parents Rights Coalition this morning but said that the press is not bound by the Order. He continued the Order against Camenker and Whiteman and "any persons in active concert or participation" with them. He apparently allows even them to talk about anything they remember from attending the Conference without referring to the tape recording. …… Attorney Chester Darling who is representing Camenker and Whiteman told Massachusetts News that the judge is trampling on the Constitution. The sweeping gag order was placed last week on the Parents Rights Coalition and countless others over the contents of a secretly recorded tape which revealed graphic sexual instruction given to teenagers by state employees at a Conference in March. ……… Judge Allan van Gestel heard arguments yesterday from three attorneys at the hearing in Boston. Chester Darling represented defendants Camenker and Whiteman. An attorney from GLAD representing the two plaintiffs, one of whom was a Department of Education employee who was fired because of the explicit sexual workshop and a teenager who participated in it. Another attorney represented FOX News which filed a "Motion to Intervene," claiming the gag order was "unconstitutional prior restraint." ……..

Massachusetts News 5/25/00 "…….Chester Darling argued forcefully yesterday for the judge to remove all restraints from his clients on First Amendment grounds. He said that, for the sake of argument, even if it were true that Whiteman did violate a wiretap law in recording the public conference, there is no provision in the law for issuing an injunction against speech, only for monetary damages. "Scott Whiteman heard and saw the entire workshop. He has an unfettered First Amendment right to describe, talk about, or write down what he personally heard and saw. He did not 'secretly hear' what was going on at the workshop. He was there; he paid an admission fee; he witnessed it. He read materials and matter which were distributed there, disseminated to minors and available to him...It burdens too much speech." ……..Darling reminded the judge that GLAD has "glossed over" the First Amendment before, specifically on a previous case which he finally won in the U.S. Supreme Court. He made the point that Whiteman was not believed by the Department of Education about what occurred at the workshop until he produced the taped evidence. …..The judge asked Darling if this case was not about violating the wiretapping statute through possible illegal taping by Whiteman. Darling answered it was about violating free speech. He said it was about embarrassment of the government and those who contract with the government. It was about no notice to parents. He said the Parents Rights Coalition stepped up to the plate and exposed what was happening. "We should clean out the barn, your honor." ……"

Massachusetts News 5/25/00 "…….The judge then returned to the secret taping. "I think it was disgusting behavior. I'm deeply offended by the taping." Darling shot back, "I'm deeply offended by what was told to those children. It was a crime, it has to be revealed. Children submitted written questions at the workshop, they weren't getting up asking questions." The judge answered by saying, "The ends rarely justify the means." "The position of the gay advocates is so outrageous and so blatantly fraudulent, that it is hard to see how this judge can possibly rule in their favor. They don't care about the kids. They are basically trying to cover up their own behavior toward children," said Brian Camenker to Massachusetts News at the Suffolk Superior Courthouse in Boston yesterday. ……."

Massachusetts News 5/25/00 "…….Later, after yesterday's hearing, Scott Whiteman told Massachusetts News, "We do know that there were criminal activities occurring at the hands of GLSEN. We suspected this has been occurring for years and we have been reporting to the Department of Education since December. Our reports have been laughed at. In fact, I received two letters from a member of the Board of Education trivializing my complaints, basically saying that since nothing ever goes wrong and parents have no right to intervene." ……… Asked what kinds of laws were violated at the workshops, he answered, "Lewd and lascivious corruption of youth, inducing a minor for sexual intercourse, enticing a minor to commit sexual intercourse. It's a nightmare, all the various statutes. There is a whole consortium of them." ……"

pensacolanewsjournal.com 5/25/00 Emily Roach "…..Downtown Pensacola and Pensacola Beach will be bathed in rainbows this weekend to go with the sunshine and tanning lotion, as thousands of gays and lesbians hit town for the annual Memorial Day Weekend events. Visitors from throughout the country are drawn to special dance parties and the Gulf Coast's white beaches. Organizers and local scene watchers expect 30,000 to 70,000 gay and lesbian visitors...."

American Family Association 5/26/00 Fred Jackson "….School officials in New Milford, CT, faced an angry crowd of parents yesterday in the wake of an uproar over a school health survey. The survey, which included specific questions about sexual orientation and whether they had participated in group sex, was given to hundreds of children, some as young as 11 years old. The New York Times says that at a stormy meeting yesterday with parents, the assistant school superintendent offered an apology. But some parents say that is not enough and they want resignations. ……"

Sun-Sentinel.com 5/27/00 John Holland "……The former college professor who spent two decades preying on impoverished boys around the world stood up in court at his sentencing Friday and lectured a federal judge on integrity, conscience and values. Marvin Hersh, 60, complained about his unjust conviction, railed against the corrupt justice system and acknowledged he will die in prison. What he didn't mention was the string of little boys -- as young as 9 -- he had as sex partners, plying them with money and gifts that the children shared with their families in the poorest villages of Honduras. U.S. District Court Judge Alan S. Gold in Miami listened to Hersh's 20-minute speech, then sent the Boca Raton man to prison for 105 years, with no chance for parole. ……."

yahoo.com 5/24/00 Julia Lieblich AP "….. The Presbyterian Church's highest court ruled Wednesday that local congregations have the right to conduct religious ceremonies celebrating gay unions that stop short of marriage. The decision by the 16-member court is binding unless the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) overrides it. The case, one of three on gay issues argued last week before the tribunal, stemmed from a same-sex ceremony performed in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. The Northeast regional church court ruled that ceremonies of ``holy union'' for same-sex couples may be conducted if it is made clear they are not marriages. ….."

Michaelmedved.com 5/22/00 "…… In the impassioned pursuit of "fairness," the national movement for gay rights is sacrificing the cause of privacy. Consider President Clinton's videotaped remarks to the huge crowd gathered recently in the nation's capital for the "Millennium March." To inspire the demonstrators, the president proudly announced that he had appointed more homosexuals to prominent positions than any of his predecessors, citing more than 150 "openly gay" officials in his administration. In other words, Clinton made a public issue of his appointees' private sexual behavior. No commentators seemed to note the delicious irony that this president, in so casually disregarding the principle that private sex lives of public officials should remain private, jettisoned the very assumption that facilitated his own political survival. Imagine how this administration would react if some conservative politician smugly announced that he had hired 150 "openly monogamous" heterosexuals. Liberals would loudly insist that private commitment to traditional marriage bears no relation to qualification for public service. ……"

New York Post 5/23/00 Rod Dreher "…….. McCARTHYISM is coming to Midtown, as a planned dot-com demonstration against Dr. Laura Schlessinger threatens the free-speech rights of us all. What an organizer is calling the nation's biggest anti-Dr. Laura protest yet will clog the heart of America's media capital June 5, as the gay-led boycott of the popular radio therapist gathers momentum. StopDrLaura.com spokesman Alan Klein said the activist group, which has sponsored similar protests in other cities, hasn't set a Midtown location yet. But it's a good bet that demonstrators will converge outside the Times Square headquarters of Viacom, parent company of Paramount Television, which plans to syndicate Dr. Laura's TV program this fall. …….. What the StopDrLaura mob calls "hatred" and "bigotry" is Dr. Laura's criticism of homosexual practices. Schlessinger, an Orthodox Jew, has described homosexual behavior as "deviant." ……. She has also cautioned those who disapprove of gay sexual practices and viewpoints that they must treat gays decently. That has been overlooked by Dr. Laura's detractors, who portray her as the bouffanted equivalent of Matthew Shepard's murderers. ……"

Boston Globe 5/25/00 Jeff Jacoby "…… You can hear arguments for and against same-sex marriage. You can hear arguments for and against gays in the military. You can hear arguments for and against taking the Bible's condemnation of homosexuality literally. ……. Or can you? Increasingly, gay activists are insisting that you not be allowed to hear the arguments for and against. Instead of trying to refute opinions they don't share, the new strategy is to label them ''hateful'' or ''dangerous'' and to silence the people making them. The campaign to kill the ''Dr. Laura'' TV show before it debuts this fall is an alarming case in point. ….."

Long Beach Press Telegram 5/24/00 Helen Guthrie Smith "….. LONG BEACH A second Millikan High School ninth-grade boy, who allegedly exposed himself to a special education student at the northeast Long Beach campus, has been suspended. The 14-year-old was removed from school for five days and recommended for a disciplinary transfer, Dick Van Der Laan, Long Beach Unified School District spokesman, said Tuesday. In the same incident, a 15-year-old boy was suspended Monday for five days, also with a recommendation for expulsion. Each boy is to appear before a disciplinary hearing, probably during the suspension period. ……"

AFA 5/24/00 "…… The American Family Association of Michigan says administrators at one public school may have broken the law when they forced students to attend a seminar presented by homosexual activists. The "Diversity Day" program was presented at Grand Haven High School on May 1, and featured homosexuals who parents say told their children that homosexual behavior is natural. Gary Glenn, president of the AFA of Michigan, says school officials forced some students to attend the seminar against their will. The seminar was presented by a representative from the Triangle Foundation, a homosexual advocacy group based in Detroit. ….."

Wired News 5/24/00 Declan McCullagh "……These are trying times for an antiporn activist. A federal judge has barred the Justice Department from prosecuting most sex sites, the Communications Decency Act has been overturned, and this week the Supreme Court struck down a cable TV sex-scrambling law. But that didn't stop anti-porn advocates from descending on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, lurid printouts in hand, to demand that something be done about raunch and ribaldry on the Internet. "I'm here to make an appeal for you to do anything and everything that is possible to hinder this horrible industry," said Joseph Burgin …"

yahoo.com 5/24/00 "……In two cases based on alleged homosexual advances, a third California jury considers the murder of a gay scientist and an Alaska man wins acquittal. …… A San Diego, California Superior Court jury began deliberations for the third time on May 22 in the trial of martial arts expert Paul Cain for the December 1995 murder of distinguished gay geophysicist Dr. Stanley Runcorn. In each trial, Cain's defense has argued that the then-24-year-old karate black belt and prize-winning kickboxer was triggered into an "explosion of violence" by sexual advances from the 73-year-old developer of the theory of continental drift. ……"

yahoo.com 5/25/00 Philip Pullella Reuters "….. Pope John Paul II reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church's teaching against gay marriages Thursday, saying that only a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman could form the basis of a family. ``Attempts to define the family as something other than a solemnized lifelong union of man and woman which looks to the birth and nurture of children are bound to prove destructive,'' the pope said. ….. The pope's comments came as a dispute raged in Italy over plans for a massive gay pride rally in Rome this summer. It has been opposed by Catholic and rightist groups. Prime Minister Giuliano Amato sparked unrest within his own center-left coalition Wednesday when he said the rally was ''inopportune'' because it coincided with the Catholic Church's 2000 Holy Year. ……. The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual tendencies are not sinful but that homosexual acts are. ……"

yahoo.com 5/25/00 "….. World Pride 2000 was an issue May 24 both inside the Italian Parliament at question time and outside the building where gay and lesbian activists gathered in protest. Italian newspapers reported earlier that day that the July celebration in Rome has been moved out of the city's center in deference to Vatican and right-wing protests. Ostensibly for the sake of "public order," a rally planned for the national monument site in the Piazza Venezia will be relocated and the pride march -- already planned to avoid major religious sites -- will be rerouted so as not to cross the city center or major streets. The pro-Vatican Il Messaggero said this "compromise" was agreed on over the weekend between Italy's Prime Minister Giuliano Amato and Vatican representative Cardinal Angelo Sodano, although the Vatican would have preferred that World Pride be delayed until after its Jubilee Year if not prohibited altogether. ! E! ven the government's equal opportunities minister was quoted as saying gays and lesbians should march only "where they will not disturb anybody." ……"

AP Breaking News 5/24/00 "….. SINGAPORE (AP) - Authorities on Wednesday canceled a planned homosexual forum, saying it would legitimize practices considered unlawful in this conservative city-state. In a statement, police said they "cannot allow the holding of this public forum, which will advance and legitimize the cause of homosexuals in Singapore." Businessman Alex Au, who had requested government permission to hold Singapore's first forum on gays and lesbians on Sunday, said he was saddened by the ban. "It seems that civil society can only operate within the narrow confines of what the authorities deem to be the public interest," Au said. ……"

AFR News 5/22/00 Bill Fancher "……One homosexual activist admits just how important Hollywood is to his favorite cause. Homosexual activist Micah Mahjoubian says television is a crucial cog in the homosexual movement's efforts to be accepted as normal. ……. "Most people really aren't paying attention to what's going on in Congress or the Supreme Court," Mahjoubian says, "but they do turn on the TV and they see people who are funny and make them laugh, who seem absolutely normal to them and look just like them, and yet they're gay." ......"That, I think, is much more powerful than anything that goes on in Washington, D.C." …….Former homosexual and now a man who runs an ex-homosexual ministry, Anthony Falzarano, says Hollywood is solidly behind the homosexual movement. ..."The gays have control of Hollywood," Falzarano says. "They even have an editing office there." ......"

Long Beach Press Telegram 5/22/00 Kristopher Hanson "……Bikers in leather, church groups, classic car club members, a college fraternity and many others came together Sunday to march in the 17th annual Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade along Ocean Boulevard. With tens of thousands of parade watchers and marchers waving, hooting, dancing and hollering, the event resembled a mini-Mardi Gras. …… "

EWTN 5/19/00 "……Under the name World Pride Roma 2000, international homosexual associations are planning to gather in Rome, Italy for a World Gay Pride Meeting, scheduled to be held from Saturday, July 1st, to Sunday, July 9th, 2000. …... On Saturday, July 8th, there will be a World Pride March and Parade, which will pass in front of Vatican City. "This meeting is meant as a counter jubilee event, because these organizations rightly perceive the Catholic Church and the Holy Father as strong barriers to their worldwide plans to promote homosexuality as a valid alternative life style", said Father Richard Welch, CSSR, JCD, President of Human Life International. "It is appalling that the City of Rome has given permission for this parade of perversion around the city, despite the requests of The Holy See to not allow it. Given what takes place during these 'gay parades' in the United States, it makes one shudder that they plan to directly offend the primacy seat of Roman Catholic Church during their parade." ……."What is even more shocking is the open support given by United States Vice President Al Gore to this event. In a letter postdated for July 1, 2000, he states: '...I am pleased to send greetings to everyone participating in World Pride... Roma 2000....I regret that I am unable to join you...I want to offer my very best wishes for a successful event...I look forward to strengthening our working relationship throughout the 21st century...'. Al Gore knows very well that this event will be offensive to The Holy Father and to Catholics around the world…. "

The Associated Press 5/22/00 Richard Carelli "…..The Supreme Court today set aside a ruling that said any unwanted sexual touching is a "crime of violence" covered by federal law. The justices, who last week struck down as unconstitutional key provisions of the federal Violence Against Women Act, told a federal appeals court to reconsider a Utah dispute over the scope of related provisions. The appeals court presumably will dismiss the Utah case. ……. In its May 15 decision, the nation's highest court said Congress overstepped its authority when it gave rape victims the right to sue their attackers in federal court. The court, by a 5-4 vote, said states, not Congress, should provide such help for victims of violence. …… In the Utah case, the appeals court previously ruled that women could invoke the law when suing over unwanted sexual advances that violate a state's criminal sexual abuse law. ……"

townhall.com 5/19/00 Mona Charen "……..Dr. Laura's critics are jubilant, hailing these craven decisions as blows against "hate" and "violence" -- which suggests that words have lost their meaning in modern America. I've been listening to Dr. Laura for years and have never once heard her preach hatred toward any group (except perhaps, on a bad day, her callers, but that's another story). Dr. Laura is acerbic and occasionally harsh. But after years of Dr. Joyce Brothers, Dr. Ruth Westheimer and the other tribunes of the whatever-feels-good school, a little Cotton Mather was long overdue. Dr. Laura's muscular defense of traditional virtues like responsibility, honor, chastity and discipline make her a cultural treasure. Laura Schlessinger has two lodestars: traditional Judaism and tenderness toward children. Whatever conflicts with those two values can expect the back of her hand or worse…. "

The Associated Press 5/19/00 Bob Lewis "…….Virginia's governor says a photographer's sexually graphic slide show had no place in a state-owned art museum. Gov. Jim Gilmore objected to the presentation by Sally Mann in a letter this week to officials at the Virginia Museum of Arts. Toward the end of her 90-minute lecture May 10, Mann showed pictures that included depictions of oral sex, genitalia and young girls urinating, according to witness accounts. In his letter to Richard Woodward, the museum's interim director, Gilmore said he was "shocked and dismayed that this type of exhibit occurred on state owned property." ……."

Massachusetts News 5/19/00 "……We have another out-of-control judge in Massachusetts - this time trying to stop all First Amendment rights in the rally that will take place today at the State House by outraged parents. ……. A Restraining Order was faxed to Brian Camenker, the leader of the parents, last night after the Courthouse had closed. The typed Order was not on any official form with any sign of authentication. It came from some alleged, unknown lawyer and some alleged, unknown judge. Even the Boston Globe reports this morning that it could not decipher the scribble of the signature in order to determine what judge, if any, had signed the "Order." …… The parents are rallying today because of the explicit sex that was presented to teenage students at a conference on March 25 by employees of the Department of Education. ……… Camenker was not dismayed but was buoyed by the alleged Order. "They rally will go on as planned with even more vigor. If they think they're going to keep secret what they did to children at that conference, they're sadly mistaken. The mothers and fathers of this state are already in revolt. This attempt to muzzle us will only make them more angry." …….

Massachusetts News 5/19/00 "……The Order was typed on a plain piece of paper by the unknown lawyer and presented to an unknown judge. Was it really an Order from a judge or is it a hoax? There is absolutely no way to know. The timing of the Order was unbelievable. The people who talked dirty with teenagers back in March have had plenty of time to seek an Order against Camenker if they desired. But they waited until the eve of the rally after the Courthouse had closed. The timing was obviously done on purpose and if it was really signed by a judge, he or she was complicit. If the Order had been obtained a few days ago, Camenker and his lawyer could have challenged the proceeding. But it's pretty hard to challenge it when the Courthouse is closed. ...... The alleged Order restrained Camenker and any other person from talking about what occurred at the Conference where children were molested by employees of the Department of Education. …… It lists as plaintiffs Julie Netherland, who was one of the Department of Education employees who molested the children at the March conference, and Caitlin Farren of Watertown, who is not otherwise identified. ……"

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 5/19/00 Larry Witham "…..The top Presbyterian Church court Friday hears testimony on three cases of homosexual ordinations and same-sex "unions" upheld by a lower Northeast Synod court but now on appeal on the eve of the church's General Assembly. Meeting in Baltimore, the Permanent Judicial Council for the 2.5 million-member church must decide whether presbyteries, or local associations, can decide policy on homosexual issues in opposition to national rules. The court's ruling will come in a week or two……."

Washington Times 5/19/00 Stephen Dinan "……A photographer's lecture and slide show that included sexually graphic images has the publicly funded Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in trouble with Gov. James S. Gilmore III. After learning of the show's content, which included photos of oral sex and pubescent girls urinating, the governor wrote a letter Thursday to the museum's interim director, Richard Woodward, demanding he create a policy to prevent such an exhibition in the future. Mr. Woodward said in a response Thursday afternoon that museum staffers will immediately clarify its guidelines……"

CNSNews.com 5/18/00 Jerry Miller "……A spokesman for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which received funds from the office of the Massachusetts Commissioner of Education, has admitted a school workshop sponsored in March for 30 students - some as young as 14 - crossed the line in terms of content…….Kevin Jennings, the group's executive director, said the state-funded workshop, conducted by two Department of Education AIDS/HIV education specialists and a taxpayer-funded consultant, went too far. …….. GLSEN has a state-funded contract to hold workshops for students, many of whom are homosexual, as well as educators, in an effort promote greater tolerance toward homosexual students. The workshops, part of the state's Safe Schools Program, have been conducted since 1993……..The video taping was secretly done by a member of the Parents Rights Coalition of Massachusetts. A copy of the proceedings has made its way to a Boston area FM radio station that has aired segments of the workshop……… "

CNSNews.com 5/18/00 Jerry Miller "……However, attorneys for one of the 30 students and one of the Department of Education staff members have since received a temporary injunction from a Suffolk County Superior Court judge barring the distribution of the tape and transcripts based on the recording. In Massachusetts, taping people without their permission violates state law. "This was illegally taped...there were 30 students present who were relying on the assurance of confidentiality of the workshop proceedings to ask the questions they needed to ask," said Mary Bonauto, an attorney for the group Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders......."

EWTN 5/20/00 "…..A group of Italian Catholic and Protestant leaders sent an open letter to US Vice President Al Gore on Wednesday asking him to revoke his support for the World Gay Pride festival planned for Rome this summer. "We think there can be no doubt about the highly controversial and confrontational nature of a World Gay Pride Day right in the Rome of the Jubilee," they said. ......Vatican officials have petitioned the Rome government to revoke permission for the event because other homosexual events throughout the world have included expressions of anti-Catholicism and mockery of Catholic symbols as well as public acts of erotic behavior. They also object to the timing of the event during the Jubilee Year 2000 when millions of Catholic pilgrims are expected to journey to the geographical center of the faith. ….."

The New York Times 5/19/00 Jim Rutenberg Stuart Elliott "…..For years, the Paramount Television studio has been left out of the riches of daytime talk television as shows starring Oprah Winfrey and Rosie O'Donnell became wildly popular. So, last spring, top Paramount executives jumped at a chance to produce a talk show starring Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the conservative advice-giver whose radio show is the second-highest-rated talk show in the nation. They scheduled it for September and sold it to stations covering 96 percent of the country. …….But now they are facing an increasingly vociferous protest by gay advocacy groups, who are angered by what they say is Dr. Schlessinger's anti-gay message. And the protests are getting results. …….The reactions to the protests reflect the growing political and economic clout of gays. It has been far more common for mainstream marketers to listen to groups on the right like the American Family Association, which assert that they represent millions of consumers, than to those representing gays, a smaller segment. …... "

Oregon Live 5/16/00 Scott Learn "……. Portland's City Council voted Wednesday to join a friend-of-the-court brief before the U.S. Supreme Court that will argue in favor of requiring the Boy Scouts of America to admit gay men. The council voted 5-0 to have the city sign on to the brief. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in Dale vs. Boy Scouts of America on April 27. New York and Chicago will also join in the brief, said deputy city attorney Madelyn Wessel. Atlanta, Denver, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., may also join, Wessel said. ……"

Freeper vannrox 5/128/00 "….Update from Mike Barnicle on 96.9 FM.
$1.5 Million has been allociated towards the program
14-15 year old children are being taught HOW to have sex.
The children were told NOT to tell their parents. That what was sid inside stays inside.
DSS won't get involved.
The person with the tapes is a Tax Activist. ......"

UPI 5/18/00 "…….Parents rally at the Statehouse in Boston Thursday to demand the state stop funding homosexual student organizations in schools. The Parents Rights Coalition says it wants the "homosexual agenda" removed from public schools in Massachusetts, the Boston Globe reported Thursday. Spokesman Brian Camenker said the coalition is demanding that $1.5 million for homosexual programs be removed from the budget for 2001, and that the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth be disbanded. "Children are being victimized by these groups and their parents don't even know it," Camenker said. ……He said the group also wants state Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll removed from office for failing to fire two employees who "crossed the line" with sexually explicit language during a March forum at Tufts University run by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. Some 30 students as young as 14 attended the "Teach Out" seminar, titled: "What They Didn't Tell You About Queer Sex and Sexuality in Health Class." ……."

Freeper vannrox "….BIG NEWS IN BOSTON. This is a big hot potatoe. A Activist has secretly taped (recorded) a state paid for and sponsored How-To seminar. This seminar instructed 14 year old students how to be gay. It taught them a technique known as "fisting", and how to co-habitate with bisexuals and why it is bad to refuse their advances. The man discussed this with Louise Grace(?) at FM-TALK (Boston) 96.9FM (a FOX affiliate). ……….This was on all day, and when I got out of work I continued to listen to the discussion on "extreme games" with Jay Severn. The whistle blower has just been arrested, and is being charged with felony counts of hate crimes. He is also banned from playing the tape of the lecture. ……The Boston Globe carried this article in their afternoon edition. But look... IT WAS JUST SUDDENLY PULLED!!!!! Why the censureship? ….. What ever happened to the first amendment. I guess we lost it. ….."

Freeper vannrox "…..The State Secretary of Education was asked to step down...I don't know who did this...Gov??? Callers to the station are all upset. ….."

UPI 5/17/00 "……An Internet Service Provider Wednesday shut down a pedophile-oriented Web site in the wake of a federal lawsuit alleging its content provoked the sex-murder of a 10-year-old Massachusetts boy. The parents of the slain boy allege in their suit that the North American Man Boy Love Association's Internet site encourages sex between men and boys, and was responsible for inciting the man who killed their son. …… Barbara and Robert Curley also named in their suit Verio Inc., the Colorado-based ISP that hosted NAMBLA's Internet site until taking if off-line on Wednesday. …….. In their federal wrongful death and civil rights suit filed in Boston, the Curleys said materials posted on NAMBLA's Web site caused member Charles Jaynes to murder their son, Jeffrey Curley. The boy was abducted, tortured and suffocated with a gasoline-soaked rag after resisting sexual advances from Jaynes and his friend, Salvatore Sicari, prosecutors said. Jaynes and Sicari are now serving life prison terms for his murder. ……. The 32-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court said Jaynes had been a heterosexual until he joined NAMBLA, after which he "dumped his girlfriend and became obsessed with having sex with young boys," the attorney said. ……. The Boston Globe said the suit contends that NAMBLA, which has fewer than 1,000 members, "serves as a conduit for an underground network of pedophiles in the United States." A message on NAMBLA's telephone answering machine in New York claims the organization "speaks out against societal repression and celebrates the joys of men and boys in love." ......"

CNSNews.com 5/17/00 Jerry Miller "…….The Massachusetts Education Commissioner is investigating the possible role played by members of his staff and a consultant in what he characterized as a "prurient" homosexual discussion with students. Commissioner David Driscoll said some of the children involved in the 30-student discussion group were as young as 14. ……. The workshop and related conference, titled "What they Didn't Tell You About Queer Sex and Sexuality in Health Class: Workshop for Youths Only, Ages 14-21," was held at Tufts University in Medford, MA, on March 25th. …….. The event was sponsored by the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLESEN), a private, non-profit agency. GLESEN has, for the last seven years, been the recipient of state education money to conduct the Safe Schools Program, an initiative designed to promote "tolerance" in public schools. ……. Driscoll said members of his staff are in the process of reviewing tapes from the conference as part of an on-going investigation. The taping was done secretly by a member of the watchdog group, the Parents Rights Coalition of Massachusetts. Copies of the tape are scheduled for release on Wednesday……… Jim Anderson, a GLESEN spokesman, said the workshop was never intended to be as graphic as it became, but he insisted it represented a "safe place" for the students to have questions about their sexuality answered. …….While not officially sponsored by the education department, the state agency did offer teachers who attended the session an opportunity to receive "professional development points," or credit for in-service training. Driscoll also wrote a letter presented at the conference that support for the Safe Schools program, which is funded by the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, is a function of the Department of Education……..".

yahoo.com 5/17/00 Steve Gorman "…….United Airlines has dropped advertisements for Dr. Laura Schlessinger's radio show from its in-flight magazine because of her controversial commentary about homosexuality, an airline spokesman said Wednesday. Schlessinger, who dispenses moral and ethical advice each weekday on a syndicated radio show that reaches an estimated 18 million listeners, has sparked an uproar from gay and lesbian groups for her on-air references to homosexuality as ``deviant'' and ``a biological error.'' A spokesman for United, which bills itself as the world's biggest airline, said ads for her program were pulled because her views run contrary to the airline's ``corporate commitment to respecting our employees as well as our customers.'' ``And we demonstrate that commitment in a number of ways, including by recognizing the diversity of our tens of millions of customers and tens of thousands of employees,'' the United spokesman, Matthew Triaca said from Chicago, where the airline and its parent UAL Corp. are headquartered. ……."

yahoo.com 5/16/00 "…..The radio talkshow host calls the continuing demonstrations against her upcoming TV show "the McCarthyism of the 21st century." Saint Louis, Missouri saw the latest in a series of demonstrations protesting an upcoming syndicated television show for top-rated anti-gay radio talkshow host "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger, while Schlessinger is firing back at her critics in every available forum. The May 13 St. Louis protest, organized by Stop Dr. Laura/St. Louis and the local chapter of the National Organization for Women, drew about 125 participants, more than last week's San Francisco and Atlanta, Georgia demonstrations combined. Their target was FOX affiliate KTVI-TV Channel 2, which responded with a statement that management "deeply respects the rights of individuals to lawful assembly and free speech. Specific to Dr. Laura Schlessinger's television program, we have expressed our concerns regarding content and continue frequent communication with the program's producers, Paramount Television." …….."

Union Leader 5/18/00 Bernadette Malone Connolly "…… Today at 1 p.m., the students in grades 9-12 in Epping will assemble in the school gymnasium for an hour-long talk about homosexuality, an event of which parents were not informed. Principal Victor Petzy said notifying parents would have been too "cumbersome." ……… What a classic example of what's wrong with so many schools these days! First, what business does the school have putting on a program about homosexuality? Shouldn't high schoolers be doing math or writing when they are in school, not having teacher-encouraged rap sessions about their sexual urges? …….Secondly, the fact that the administration chose not to notify parents about this is appalling. ……School administrators might want to pretend that this topic is just another health issue, but the truth is it is politically oriented, religiously charged and ought to be addressed by parents, not "We Know Best" educators. ….."

yahoo.com 5/16/00 AP "……Connecticut's commission charged with enforcing human rights laws says the state can't associate with the discriminating Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts of America can no longer receive contributions by means of payroll deductions from Connecticut state employees because of the Scouts' discriminatory policy against gays, the state's Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) ruled unanimously May 11. Under state law, "The state can't discriminate, businesses can't discriminate and further, the state can't associate with groups that do," Commissioner Andrew Norton told the Associated Press. The issue had been brought to the CHRO by the State Employees Campaign Committee for charitable giving. ……"

Upi 5/18/00 "…….. BOSTON, May 18 (UPI) -- Parents rally at the Statehouse in Boston Thursday to demand the state stop funding homosexual student organizations in schools…."

Village Voice 5/17/00 Nat Hentoff "…… Soon after he came to New York, a delegation from the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights asked to meet with O'Connor.... When O'Connor came into the room, he first shook everybody's hand. Nothing was said about Cardinal Cooke's secretary, but the gesture registered. The delegation did not change O'Connor's conviction that according to Catholic teaching active homosexuality is wrong. But Karen Doherty, a member of the Conference for Catholic Lesbians and a participant in that meeting, sent me a copy of a letter she had written the cardinal two weeks after the discussion: ……."You impressed me as being a very straightforward, sensitive, and capable man. What I particularly appreciated was the fact that I did not feel talked down to or held at a distance because I am a lesbian woman. . . . I wanted you to know that while we strongly disagree, I have a great deal of personal respect for you and the fact that you are willing to stand up for what you believe." ...... Some time after, Karen Doherty told me, "That letter of mine shocked a lot of my gay and lesbian friends, and some of the nuns and priests who support us. But I couldn't have said anything different. It would have been a lie. He is a very human person, and he has a lot of integrity. That's why he's a tremendous adversary. ……"

Portland (Maine) Press Herald 5/18/00 Dennis Hoey "…… The parents of a third-grade girl at the West Bath School said Wednesday that school officials have downplayed the severity of actions that led to the suspensions of five third-grade boys for sexual harassment. The parents, who spoke through a lawyer Wednesday to protect the girl's identity, claim male classmates twice ganged up on their daughter in a sexual way. They said the incidents occurred two days apart during recess and that their daughter reported both incidents to a playground supervisor. On May 2, two boys pulled the girl to the ground and "held her down" while a third boy climbed on top of the 9-year-old and simulated a sexual act. All of the children were fully clothed at the time. ......"

New York Post 5/18/00 "…….Dr. Laura Schlessinger, outspoken radio therapist, is under fire because of her opinions about homosexuality. Gay activists and their supporters are flooding her sponsors with complaints and threats of a boycott unless they quit sponsoring Schlessinger and her new TV show. This week, Procter & Gamble - the maker of household products including Tide laundry detergent and Ivory soap - caved. It withdrew its advertising from both Schlessinger's radio and TV shows, citing the ongoing "controversy." Score one for the new Hollywood blacklist. But don't expect to hear the civil-liberties crowd screaming "McCarthyism" this time around. …….. Once again, the left has displayed its true political stripes: Freedom of speech belongs only to those who voice liberal opinions. Anyone else is a hatemonger who deserves to be silenced. ……."

AP 5/18/00 "…..The American Psychiatric Association canceled a scheduled panel discussion of whether homosexuality can be altered through therapy, a move that has upset some self-described former gays. The debate over what is known as reorientation therapy was pulled from the APA's convention agenda on Wednesday after two psychiatrists who contend that the subject is too politically charged for scientific discussion withdrew from the panel. The cancellation led to a protest by Exodus International, a non-denominational Christian organization that seeks to help gays switch their sexual orientation. "I'm here as one representative for a virtually unseen but sizable population," said Exodus' national board chairman, John Paulk of Colorado Springs. "I once lived as a gay man, but now I'm heterosexual, something the American Psychiatric Association says does not exist." ……"

CNSNews.com 5/17/00 Bruce Sullivan "……. The Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling on Monday that Congress exceeded its power when it granted women the right to sue attackers in federal court is a good example of the misunderstanding many Americans have about their guaranteed rights, several experts told CNSNews.com. ……The controversy over our so-called "rights" also involves the claims made by homosexuals, certain groups of workers, animal activists and others…….. In Monday's ruling, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision that the interstate commerce clause in the Constitution, giving Congress the power to regulate trade between the 50 states, could not be interpreted to allow women to sue attackers and rapists in federal court. Congress had cited the harmful effects rape and domestic violence have on interstate commerce, when it passed the Violence Against Women Act in 1994. ……"

CNSNews.com 5/17/00 Bruce Sullivan "……."Lots of people think that if anything is good, it must be in the Constitution," said former Solicitor General, Judge Robert Bork. "I think that it's generally true that most Americans are woefully unversed in the details of the Bill of Rights," Center for Equal Opportunity President Linda Chavez told CNSNews.com…………. Central to the case, the United States v. Morrison, was whether the Tenth Amendment, which is part of the Bill of Rights and deals with states' rights, could be overridden by Congressional laws…….. "The Bill of Rights basically protects people from the government, or a government," Carleson told CNSNews.com. "The Bill of Rights is a constraint on government."...... "It's a constraint on government. It is not a constraint on individuals, and people don't understand that," said Carleson. "They think that if an individual does something illegal, that it's a violation of their Constitutional rights. That's not true."…….. "

CNSNews.com 5/17/00 Bruce Sullivan "……. The ACRU, said Carleson, stands in contrast to its liberal counterpart - the American Civil Liberties Union. "[The ACLU] has gotten to the point where they're defining 'liberty' as 'libertine,'" said Carleson. A case in point, said Kerusso Ministries spokesman Michael Johnston, who works with ex-homosexuals, is the clamor for so-called "gay" rights. "Obviously the homosexual rights movement has been very effective in taking what heretofore in human history was a sexual perversion and turning it, somehow, into a human right," Johnston told CNSNews.com. …… "

CNSNews.com 5/17/00 Bruce Sullivan "……. The homosexual rights movement, says Johnston, represents the first time in American history that a particular behavior has been defined as a right. "The only other close exception would be the right to religious expression. But even that ultimately is not rooted in a behavior. It's rooted in a core belief." ……… "

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 5/17/00 Andrea Billups "……A Christian student group at Massachusetts' Tufts University that was banned from meeting on campus and stripped of its funding by the student judiciary for refusing to select a lesbian member for a leadership position has been reinstated. Members of the Tufts Committee on Student Life, a 12-member faculty/student panel voted unanimously to overturn a ruling by the Tufts Community Union Judiciary, which had revoked the status and funding of the 70-member Tufts Christian Fellowship as an officially recognized student group. "We are delighted and relieved that the TCF does not have to seek shelter in catacombs beneath the Tufts campus," said Thor Halvorssen, executive director of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a Philadelphia-based campus liberty organization that had organized a campaign to support the Christian students.........."

CNS News 5/17/00 "……The North American Man/Boy Love Association - which, by its own admission, "speaks out against societal repression and celebrates the joys of men and boys in love"-- faces a lawsuit stemming from the murder of a ten-year-old Massachusetts boy. In their $200 million wrongful-death lawsuit, filed in federal court, the boy's parents claim one of their son's killers "became obsessed with having sex with and raping young male children" after joining NAMBLA in 1996. The suit says NAMBLA "encourages its members to rape male children," and it accuses NAMBLA of serving "as a conduit for an underground network of pedophiles in the United States." The lawsuit also names an Internet provider, Verio Inc., of Englewood, Colorado, which hosts the NAMBLA Website - giving pedophiles an international communication system, the lawsuit says. …."

Virginia Apuzzo, the former Assistant to the President for Management and Administration (the first openly gay or lesbian Assistant to the President)