November 2006

When the Press Doesn’t Understand Religion

Huntley criticizes the GOP for the conservatives move to push creationism, but then says the following:

Teaching intelligent design in a school science lab makes as much sense as having Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species required reading in Sunday school.

The statement is just dumb. Evolution and religion aren’t mutually exclusive. Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodists, the main branch of Lutherans, many Baptists, The Presbyterian Church USA, and UCC just as some examples all accept evolution. Teaching the Origin of Species in the Sunday School classes might very well make sense in a discussion on interpretation and the physical world versus the revealed word.

The problem with teaching creationism isn’t that it’s not science and science classes are for science. Religion deals with science quite often and understanding science and the scientific method is a good lesson in Sunday School for most.

The problem is that by setting up the two as somehow mutually exclusive it completely misrepresents the issues surrounding science and faith. By setting them up as polar opposites Huntley confuses the issue more than clarifies it adding to a problem that the press has covering religious issues.

It’s The Gay that Caused Allen’s Loss

You had to know Petey was coming out with something new:

AFT Calls on Republican Senatorial Comm. to Rescind ‘Sexual Orientation’ Policy, Says Pro-‘Gay’ Political Correctness Led to Sen. Allen’s Loss

Contact: Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth, 630-546-4439

NAPERVILLE, Ill., Nov. 10 /Christian Newswire/ — Americans For Truth President Peter LaBarbera today called on the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) to rescind its “sexual orientation” policy as inconsistent with the GOP’s professed pro-family values, and said pro-“gay” Political Correctness contributed to Sen. George Allen’s narrow loss for re-election in Virginia.

LaBarbera also called on all homosexual staff in both major parties to be open about their lifestyle in the interest of full disclosure to the public and each Member’s constituents.

Allen’s defeat–after failing to strongly embrace Virginia’s successful marriage amendment–led to the GOP’s loss of the Senate. Allen is widely reported to have homosexual staff. Jay Timmons, a senior Allen aide and former director of the NRSC, is among those being targeted for “outing” by homosexual bloggers, as is Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman.

“In recent weeks, homosexual activists have sought to ‘out’ various high-level GOP staffers and leaders as homosexuals, to highlight their hypocrisy in working for a socially conservative party,” LaBarbera said. “Now we in the pro-family movement are calling for full disclosure for a different reason: because homosexual GOP staff and pro-‘gay’ policies in the party are undermining the wholesome values Republicans say they support.”

Noting that the homosexual newspaper Washington Blade reported in 2004 that the NRSC has a nondiscrimination policy based on “sexual orientation,” LaBarbera said: “Who knew that the Republican Party committee responsible for electing senators across the country has embraced the exact same pro-homosexual ‘orientation’ policy that social conservatives have been fighting for decades?”

Due to the Mark Foley scandal, social conservatives are learning about the existence of a network of homosexual GOP staffers on Capitol Hill who promote policies antithetical to the party’s stated “family values.”

In 2004, the pro-family group PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays) was outraged when Sen. Allen refused to sign their pledge supporting tolerance for former homosexuals, then went ahead and broke a promise to another pro-family group by backing a pro-“gay” federal “Hate Crimes” bill. Allen also signed a pro-homosexual “nondiscrimination” pledge for his Senate office.

“George Allen’s lukewarm support for Virginia’s marriage amendment cost him his Senate seat,” LaBarbera said. “Now we are left to wonder: did the stealth influence of gay Republican staffers move him toward this course that would ultimately turn the Senate over to the Democrats?”

Americans For Truth is dedicated to equipping Americans to confront the homosexual and transgender activist agendas. Phone: 630-717-7631. AFT, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522. E-mail: americansfortruth@comcast.net.

Another Item for the 1st 100 Hours

Renaming the Resources Committee to the Natural Resources Committee.

Rahall isn’t my first choice amongst Dems, but I think we can say he’ll take up mine safety at least. On top of it, while Young will be ranking minority member—Pombo got tossed–Saxton will be fairly senior and he’s got a decent environmental record. There’ll be a good group to move environmental legislation through the committee.

Other good news is that Colin Petersen is taking over ag meaning a strong position on alternative energy and rural development. While he’s big on the ethanol kick (you can actually find ethanol at most stations in his District), but he also has lots of wind power.

The bad news–Dingell is back at Energy and Commerce. He’s an improvement over Barton, but that’s not saying much. He’ll bottle any CAFE standard changes up. The only leverage Democrats have there is to get the UAW and Auto Companies to get on board–we may be close to doing that.