The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
Apparently Frank Schubert and Brian Brown are tiring of their ineffective -meat puppet/ messenger, Roman CAtholic Diocese of Portland loaner Marc Mutty and using Oregon native/FRC Tony Perkins' buddy, Rev. Bob Emrich instead.
And as has become the norm in Maine, Yes on 1 has continued its horrendous and disgusting tactic, begun in its Calvary Chapel Christian Academy staff ads, of creating a dangerous position for LGBTQ students within schools (imo a CLEAR violation of the 2005 "Maine Won't Discriminate" Law!) by now focusing even CLOSER on the schools.
More specifically, previously proposed education within the schools for the safety of LGBTQ students.
There is an irony, as the Matthew Shepard Bill is now heading for the White House for passage into law, that Yes on 1 and their supporters are trying to not just deny over 1100 rights to Mainers, but to put children in our schools at risk for becoming victims of hate crimes.
What are they afraid of?
Why are they trying to hurt kids in Maine's public schools?
Are they trying to eliminate the good that has come from GLSEN and the many GSAs around the state, the various Civil Rights Teams that have served to help students understand their fellow classmates' lives and create an ambassadorship within the classes of understanding, compassion, fairness and respect?
I do not understand this at all and as a parent, it scares the hell out of me...
Dear Question 1 Supporters,
One local television channel last night reported on an issue we have brought to your attention, but too many Mainers likely know nothing about. It focuses on one of the most damaging consequences of the failure of Question 1, namely that homosexual marriage will become part of the teachings in Maine public schools.
WGME-13 informed its viewers about the state-sanctioned Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning Youth Commission's recommendations to push the gay agenda to children in kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as introducing LGBT-focused books to infants through five-year-olds enrolled in Head Start programs.
Some of the recommendations by the LGBTQ Youth Commission include:
Identifying an "LGBTQ Youth Advocate" in every school building (Pre-K-12,),
Providing support for LGBT educators, school staff, volunteers and parents to be "out" in order to serve as role models for the youth they serve,
Creation of a Rainbow (the visual anthem of homosexuality) Star System, through which schools can attain Rainbow Stars by moving steadily from legal compliance to exemplary practice, and
Hiring a Gay Straight Alliance advocate in every secondary school, presumably at taxpayer expense
Yes on Question 1 campaign chairman, Marc Mutty, exposed the fact that – surprise, surprise – people on the LGBTQ Youth Commission are some of the very people behind the No on Question 1 campaign! Our opponent’s pushback was weak and predictable and, frankly, unpersuasive to the damage the Youth Commission report does to their cause.
Last night’s broadcast pulled the curtain back on the undeniable connection between the gay activists who want young children, including toddlers, to be exposed to homosexual relationships and understand them to be the social norm to those pushing for the next incremental step of teaching that "marriage" between two men is the same as marriage between a man and a woman and appropriate for teachers to instruct.
As we enter the final stages of the campaign to restore traditional marriage in Maine, your donation to keep our messages on the air are more critical than ever. We are battling hard, 24/7, and we are on a winning path. But we remain huge financial underdogs compared to the No on 1 campaign, who are raising millions from gay marriage activists in every corner of the nation.Every dollar we raise is being poured into our media and grassroots activities.Please consider a contribution today. It is urgently needed. Sincerely,
NOTE FROM PAM: The MSM puts Family Research Council honcho Tony Perkins on the air to represent the "family values" agenda, but seem to ignore his outlandish racist affiliations documented in this diary, including ties to the Council of Conservative Citizens, declared a hate group by the SPLC, and the KKK. More background, via Media Matters:
The Boston Herald reported in an October 16, 2006, article, "In 2001, [Perkins] gave a speech at a meeting of the Council of Conservative Citizens, which the Southern Poverty Law Center [SPLC] considers a hate group."
Indeed, a Fall 2004 article in the SPLC's Intelligence Report asserted that Perkins "spoke to the Louisiana Council of Conservative Citizens on May 19, 2001," during his tenure as a Louisiana state legislator. The SPLC characterizes the CCC as a "white nationalist" organization, and has reported that the group is "the reincarnation of the racist White Citizens Councils of the 1950s and 1960s." The CCC declares in itsstatement of principles:
We also oppose all efforts to mix the races of mankind, to promote non-white races over the European-American people through so-called "affirmative action" and similar measures, to destroy or denigrate the European-American heritage, including the heritage of the Southern people, and to force the integration of the races.
When confronted with this information, an FRC tool said Perkins has "cannot remember" speaking to the group, but Perkins himself told the Vancouver Sunthat he "could not recall what he said to the group and that he said he had been unfamiliar with the CCC's history at the time."
The family values organization head has also sidled up to former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke. While campaign manager for Louis E. (Woody) Jenkins's campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1996, forked over $82,500 to buy Duke's mailing list. Yes, Perkins wanted make sure to reach the white supremacist voting base.
Bricar1632's diary:
It's said that 'a picture is worth a thousand words.' So I can't help but wonder what Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, must think knowing that this picture exists of him in the newsletter for the Council of Conservative Citizens, a well-known white supremacist group. It seems he was a guest speaker at the time, which he's done twice, once in 1997 and another time in 2001.
He could probably claim he had no knowledge of the groups interests, but he would be hard pressed to resort to this lame excuse.
In 1998, nearly three years before Perkins spoke to the CCC a second time, both Sen. Trent Lott and Rep. Bob Barr received widespread national media attention (and outrage) for speaking in front of the CCC—and both politicians used the “I-didn’t-know-their-politics” copout. The national tumult over Lott and Barr that year even prompted US Rep. Thomas Wexler to sponsor a House Resolution condemning the racism of the CCC.
Then there's the nasty detail of the white flag behind him at the podium, the one with the southern cross in one corner.
As Jeremy says, "It's all about the religion, baby!!!"
Watch out for this gal, folks; she is a remarkable piece of work. If you are NOT a Christian, YOU are a target to this woman.
DO NOT DOUBT THIS.
The second radio clip from Jeremy's piece shows the strong connection between CWA and - GASP! WHAT A SURPRISE!- now ex CCL/MFPC head honcho, Mike Heath!
When the dust settled, Ole Mikey managed to land a sweet national gig with an organization, the name of which sounds "somewhat familiar"...
See what you think.
Michael Heath Resigns
Michael Heath has quit his post as director of the Maine Christian Civic League amid a flurry of controversy. He made the announcement on September 28.
Heath led the successful (for now) February repeal of the gay rights law passed by the legislature May of 1997 and signed by Governor Angus King.
Within a month after the vote, Heath came under fire from Civic League board members, who accused him of keeping financial records from being made public. Heath denied the charges.
However, we haven't heard the last of Heath. He's accepted a position with another right-wing organization, the Family Research Council, a national group based in Washington, D.C. No word on Heath's replacement.
Family Research Council, Family Research Council...now, WHY does that name sound so damned familiar?
Want to see an hilarious news release announcing this ad hoc group that thinks Family Research Council's Tony Perkins isn't telling truth? Well, we all know if the "pro-family" leader's lips are moving that lies are spilling out, but "Conservatives For Truth" thinks the head of the this weekend's Values Voter Summit, which invited and landed failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney to the shindig, is committing a grievous error. The "pro-homosexual" Mittster's bowing and scraping before the fundies clearly hasn't convinced true believers he's worthy of the seal of approval.
This weekend, leading Christian pro-family advocacy organization Family Research Council (FRC) will feature former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as one of its featured speakers at its "Value Voters Summit." www.valuesvotersummit.org Despite Romney's unbiblical and far left-wing record as Massachusetts governor on the issues FRC claims to care the most about, FRC President Tony Perkins continues to refer to Romney as a "friend of the pro-family movement."
That's why we have authored the website www.tonyperkinstellthetruth.blogspot.com, because we believe someone claiming to stand for biblical teaching, as Mr. Perkins claims to, should have the integrity to tell the truth about the candidates he's providing a platform to reach Christian voters.
...CNS.com reported on August 25th, 2008, that before the Massachusetts legislature had even had a chance to pass a law legalizing homosexual marriages (which they never did), Governor Romney unilaterally and unconstitutionally authorized the illegal alterations to and issuance of marriage licenses to homosexual couples, and even went so far as to demand that justices of the peace who wouldn't perform homosexual "marriages" for moral reasons, resign. www.cnsnews.com/news/article/34561
We would like to ask Mr. Perkins if CNS.com is lying, and if it isn't, does that sound like the actions of a, "friend of the pro-family movement?"
Please tell the truth, Mr. Perkins.
Even after the GOP Clown Car tossed him out in 2008, Mitt hasn't realized that he will never be able to 1) overcome his flip-flopping, back-double-twist political gymnastics and 2) convince "Christians" that as a Mormon, he's "one of them."
Did you check out our opponents' new TV ad yesterday?
If you did, I'm sure you are as angry as I am about their cynical and fear-mongering claims regarding Maine schools. They don't want to talk about treating loving, committed same-sex couples equally through marriage, so they distort, change the subject and incite fear.
But here's where you come in. We're coming up short on our budget to keep it on the air next week.
Right now, we're just $8,243 short of our goal for next week's ad buy—but we need the money in the next 24 hours or our ad will stop airing on some key stations. Can you help us buy next week's air time?
Our positive message about respecting families and protecting marriage equality will resonate with the voters of Maine—as long as we can get it in front of them.
Please watch the ad and chip in to help set the record straight.
Thanks for your support—together, I know we can win this!
Jesse Connolly Campaign Manager NO on 1 / Protect Maine Equality
PS—Did you miss yesterday's email with the other side's new TV ad? You can still watch it here.
It's not even a good commercial- obviously not filmed in Maine, the points they are trying to make are muddled, and right down to the music, it consists of nothing but pure scare tactics and "EEKS PROTEKT TEH CHILDRUN!" mentality.
Then click on the links below! Plenty of ways for folks to help others get to Maine, inlcuding donating your frequent flyer miles... the opportunites to help are amazing!
http://www.travelforchange.org/
No on 1 Maine
TravelForChange seeks to enable volunteers and supporters to help out with the No on 1 Maine Marriage Equality campaign by
1. Recruiting people to come organize in Maine; 2. Providing a platform for sponsors to donate through airline miles or fund travelers; 3. Organizing rideshares for equality.
Come to Maine
Volunteer for Equality We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to come to Maine and organize for equality on the ground. We will match volunteers with sponsors. Come for the week or drive for the weekend. Find out more »
Be A Sponsor
Donate Your Miles Share your airline miles or buy a ticket to sponsor volunteers to come to Maine. Find out more »
Contribute
Donate Contribute to Travel for Change so we can get more volunteers to Maine. To donate via Act Blue, click here.
They still will NOT allow their shindig to be open to the public, but at least local media can peek in at them and ask a few quick questions before they are booted out of the Augusta Civic Center.
~Louise~
Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry in Maine to Respond to Marriage Equality Opponents' Rally at the Augusta Civic Center
NO on 1 to host first of a statewide series of "community conversations" at 6:30 p.m. TONIGHT at South Parish Congregational Church in Augusta
Portland, Maine (Sunday, September 13, 2009)---
Representatives of the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry in Maine (SFMM) will be available at the Augusta Civic Center this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. to respond to the media availability by speakers at Stand for Marriage Maine Rally later this evening.
The NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality campaign also announced that it will hold the first of a series of "community conversations" around the state this evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at South Parish Congregational Church, 9 Church Street in Augusta. The purpose of these community conversations is to engage Mainers on this important question of fairness and equality.
"We have challenged the sponsors of tonight's rally to open it to the Maine media and the general public, as our community conversation will be this evening in Augusta" said NO on 1 campaign manager Jesse Connolly.
"Their 4:00 p.m. 'media availability' is the only opportunity Maine media will have to question the speakers SFMM has flown in from out of state to oppose the marriage equality rights of loving Maine couples and families. We are grateful to the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry for speaking out today to show that thousands of Maine people of faith and their leaders support marriage equality and will vote no on November 3rd."
Who: Members of the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry in Maine
What: Response to Speakers at Rally to Oppose Marriage Equality
Where: Second Floor of the North Wing of the Augusta Civic Center, Hallway Outside of the Maine Lounge
When: 4:00 p.m. TODAY (Sunday, September 13, 2009)
and
Who: NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality
What: Community Conversation on Marriage Equality
Where: South Parish Congregational Church, 9 Church Street, Augusta
When: 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. TODAY (Sunday, September 13, 2009)
NO on 1 Calls on Opponents to Open the Doors to Their Augusta Rally
Marriage Equality Proponents to Host Community Conversations Statewide
Portland, Maine (Saturday, September 12, 2009)---
The NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality campaign today challenged its opponents to allow the media into their Augusta rally tomorrow featuring several out-of-state, headline speakers opposed to marriage equality. At the same time, NO on 1 announced that it will hold a series of "community conversations" around the state to engage Mainers on this important question of fairness and equality.
"The contrast could not be clearer," said NO on 1 campaign manager Jesse Connolly. "While our opponents have speakers flown in from San Diego and Washington, DC to speak out against loving Maine couples and families, we're having real conversations, Mainer to Mainer, about the importance of marriage equality."
The opposition rally at the Augusta Civic Center features Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, Harry Jackson, Jr., of Hope Christian Church in Washington, D.C., Chris Clark from East Clairemont Baptist Church in San Diego, and a special message from James Dobson of Focus on the Family, based in Colorado Springs. The ticketed event is closed to the press.
While the opponents' rally at the Augusta Civic Center will be closed to the media and people without tickets, NO on 1's Augusta "community conversation," the first in a statewide series, will be open to the general public and the media. That conversation is happening tomorrow, Sunday, September 13th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at South Parish Congregational Church, 9 Church Street, Augusta.
"It makes no sense to hold a big rally and then deny access to the general public and ban coverage of the event by the Maine media," said Connolly. "If the organizers really want to show people that they are not alone, why would they close the doors to the general public, to television news viewers and to Maine newspaper readers?"
Members of the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry in Maine also spoke out today about the insinuation from the backers of Question 1 that their rally will demonstrate that religious leaders are united in opposition to marriage equality.
"It is simply not true to suggest that all people and leaders of faith are opposed to marriage equality," said Pastor Mike Gray of Old Orchard Beach United Methodist Church. "Many, many people of deep faith -- from the pulpit to the pews -- believe that only marriage truly honors and respects the livelong, loving commitment between two people. For many of us, it's a moral question of basic fairness for all Maine families."
"Marriage equality is a necessity from both a civil and moral standpoint," said Rev. Don Rudalevige a retired United Methodist Minister from Cape Elizabeth. "This is a civil matter and religions can continue to decide on their own, what marriages they will or will not perform. But it's important to remember that many faith communities want the ability to perform marriages for gay and lesbian couples."
Anne Underwood of Catholics for Marriage Equality also noted that many Catholics planned not to participate in the Diocese's special collection this Sunday to raise funds to repeal marriage equality.
"We believe many Catholics will either ignore the special collection altogether or hand in a note supporting the marriage equality law," Ms. Underwood said. "We believe that marriage equality is a matter of civil rights and social justice and, in fact, many Catholics feel compelled by conscience to support the effort to defeat Question 1."
Karen Ocamb is a SoCal journalist who covered last summer's Prop 8 referendum contest. As the Question 1 debate heats up in Maine, her analysis is important.
September 11, 2009
The Religious Right is Swiftboating Same Sex Marriage in Maine
By Karen Ocamb
News editor, Frontiers in LA
"God has no grandchildren," the evangelical ex-Marine father of my late friend Chip Howe said, explaining how he surrendered judgment and came to accept Chip's homosexuality. Chip, a Lieutenant in the Navy during the Vietnam War, was supposed to get married and provide his parents with grandchildren. Chip's father thought being gay meant that would never happen.
That was in 1990, before there was any real hope for marriage rights for same sex couples. Though Chip had known love before he died, he never got to experience the fruition of his constitutional right to pursue happiness - marriage and a family of his own.
The story is instructive because Religious Right professionals have succeeded in making it appear as if all people of faith are antigay and anti-marriage equality. Worse yet, they are using religion as an excuse to perpetrate lies and deception - to swiftboat same sex couples in the name of God, when in fact they are just advancing another end-justifies-the-means political scheme.
That's what happened in California and that's what is now underway in Maine as opponents of same sex marriage fight to prevent Maine's marriage equality law from taking effect though a referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot.
State Sen. Larry Bliss (D-South Portland) got to the heart of the issue in his Sept. 8 op-ed response to Rev. Bob Emrich's Aug. 26 Maine Voices column advocating passage of the anti-gay Question 1.
Bliss wrote:
"Do we want a Maine where Rev. Emrich and his supporters tell the rest of us who can be a family and who can love whom? Marriage equality upholds traditional Maine values of personal freedom and equality by respecting the right of every Mainer to marry the person he or she loves. That's the Maine I live in. Those are the values I hold dear."
Watch Out Maine
But that's not the Maine residents will recognize in the next two months as the Proposition 1 political campaign heats up.
This Sunday, Sept. 13, for instance, Maine Jeremiah Project's Emrich and the National Organization for Marriage with their Stand for Marriage Maine coalition (S4MM) are holding a rally featuring some of the big guns in the Religious Right professional world - Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council (FRC), Pastor Chris Clark from San Diego, and via video, Focus on the Family's Dr. James Dobson.
The purpose of the rally is to galvanize their conservative Christian base and help organize an army of volunteers and a network of churches to "Impact Maine Culture," as described on the Maine Jeremiah Project website. Apparently the media is not being allowed into the event.
California also experienced a pre-election onslaught of out-of-state Religious Right professionals - including Perkins and Dobson - for a massive rally in San Diego dubbed TheCall. (Religious Right watcher Bruce Wilson, who is straight, later described on the Huffington Post how TheCall's organizer Lou Engle is tied to violent Religious Right extremists.)
Perhaps the most widely publicized religious involvement in California's Prop 8 battle was by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), more commonly referred to as the Mormon Church. Protect Marriage/Yes on 8 campaign manger Frank Schubert said members of the Mormon Church eventually contributed "somewhere in the $20 million range, so about half of what we raised - which we were very grateful for."
In fact, on Nov. 3, 2008, blogger hekebolos published a leaked internal memo on Daily Kos that seemed to indicate that Mormon leaders had been working to prevent marriage equality in California and Hawaii since 1997, recruiting local California Catholic bishops to serve as the front for the operation. The story was later picked up by blogger Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin, which expanded the reach to Arizona.
Not all Mormons backed Prop 8 or appreciated what the church did in their name. Famous former San Francisco 49er quarterback Steve Young, for instance, who is a descendant of Mormon founder Brigham Young, opposed Prop 8, posting "No on 8" signs in front of his Palo Alto home and his wife Barbara contributed $50,000. And many non-Mormon residents of Utah worried about whether a growing backlash over Mormon involvement might impact the state.
The rest of Karen's extraordinary post below the fold....
Please click whenever you see the green and white No On 1" emblem shown here and give what you can- every little bit is needed and every little bit helps! :)
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A beautiful bit of parsing out and exposing the lies of both Portland Diocese loaner Stand For Marriage Maine's Marc Mutty and Rev. Bob Emrich in this morning's 'Portland Press Herald'.
In his other life, as director of public affairs for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, Marc Mutty has spent years navigating the complex legislative currents that run through the State House. It's the kind of job that requires a keen understanding of what a given law says - and what it doesn't.
But these days, Mutty is chairman of Stand for Marriage Maine, the group that is working to repeal Maine's same-sex marriage law. And if his latest fundraising pitch is any indication, Mutty's new gig has a lot more to do with fear than facts.
Indeed it does... so let's see how Nemitz tackles this.
You read that correctly. According to the leader of Stand for Maine Marriage, a man who undoubtedly knows better, the law passed by the Legislature in May makes "gay sex education" mandatory in classrooms statewide.
In case you didn't get it the first time, Mutty goes on to warn, again in bold-face, that "if marriage is redefined to be genderless, then same-sex marriage must be taught as being the same as traditional marriage."
And finally, the money pitch: "We need your immediate contribution of $100, $50 or even $25 to keep homosexual education out of Maine's classrooms."
All of which raises an intriguing question: Who really wrote this - and what have they done with the old Marc Mutty? Mutty was out sick Thursday and thus unavailable to explain what's causing him to see things in Maine's same-sex marriage law that, from any reality-based angle, simply aren't there.
Sick... yeah. Moving right along...
But the Rev. Bob Emrich of the Emmanuel Bible Baptist Church in Plymouth, a member of Stand for Marriage Maine's executive committee, said the group stands by Mutty's claim that the same-sex marriage statute will require "explicit homosexual instruction in the classroom."
One problem. Emrich and Mutty are wrong. Nowhere in the law do the words "school" or "classroom" even appear.
And if you're looking for phrases like "explicit homosexual instruction" hidden in some obscure statutory subsection, trust me - it's not there. Not even in code.
So, Pastor Bob, what gives?
Well, according to Ole Bob, Maine has a state mandated "comprehensive family life curriculum" and that the teachers would have no choice but to include discussion of same sex marriage in their classrooms.
A bald-faced lie and Nemitz says so:
For starters, Maine doesn't "mandate" a "comprehensive family life curriculum" for its schools.
Rather, Maine Revised Statutes Title 22 requires the commissioner of education to work with local family planning programs to develop "comprehensive family life education services" that any school district can choose (or choose not) to incorporate into its curriculum.
The statute also says that if any family-life education takes place in a school, "a parent may choose to not have (his or her) child participate" in the program.
As for "marriage" - heterosexual or homosexual - the word never appears in the statute. Not once.
Ditto for Maine's Learning Results, the broad standards upon which school districts build their curricula.
The simple truth is that school curriculum decisions in Maine are made not by the state, but by local school boards. And those school boards, being elected and all, answer directly to parents.
As someone who has been to a few of those school board meetings, I can attest that this is true in Maine.
Here's the thing- the opposition knows that honesty with the Maine voters and a real discussion based on facts will result a loss for them, as it should.
That's why the majority of those polled are showing overwhelming support for the marriage equality law here in Maine.
Which brings us back to the truth - or disturbing lack thereof - in Mutty's misguided fundraising appeal.
In a statement issued via e-mail Thursday, Jesse Connolly, campaign manager of No on 1/Protect Maine Equality, predicted that Maine voters will "see through these cynical campaign tactics" by Mutty & Co. as the debate heats up in the coming weeks.
"This is an attempt to divert attention and raise unfounded issues," said Connolly. "Question 1 has nothing to do with schools and no one is voting on curriculum in November."
Connolly is right - and anyone who's taken the time to carefully read Maine's same-sex marriage law knows it.
Including, of all people, Marc Mutty.
Below the fold, another story of public dishonesty for the sake of raising money against marriage equality...
Rev. Emrich looks at marriage equality in Maine and sees "acres of clear-cut land." I look at marriage equality, and I see thousands of Maine couples whose lives are more secure, whose children have more protections under the law and whose rights are assured to love each other and to have the law acknowledge and honor their partnerships.
In Rev. Emrich's Maine, there is one set of rules for him and his supporters and another for those Mainers he disagrees with. In the Maine where my neighbors and I live, we believe that everyone should be treated fairly under the law.
For Rev. Emrich, marriage is a restrictive club guided by the rules he and his supporters make. Rev. Emrich totally ignores the most important facts about marriage and the rights, responsibilities and protections it confers on the two people who marry and on their children.
In his zeal to close the door to marriage for thousands of our neighbors, co-workers and family members, Rev. Emrich fails to address the injustice behind repealing Maine's marriage equality law in November.
Marriage equality strengthens Maine families, protects Maine children and reflects core Maine values of fairness and individual liberty.
Marriage equality upholds traditional Maine values of personal freedom and equality by respecting the right of every Mainer to marry the person he or she loves.
That's the Maine I live in. Those are the values I hold dear.
I'll be honest:this is perhaps one of the hardest columns I have yet to attempt to cut down to the most important statements.
What Bliss says about children is spot-on:
Marriage equality strengthens Maine families, protects Maine children and reflects core Maine values of fairness and individual liberty.
Marriage equality honors the commitment that thousands of loving same-sex couples in Maine have made to each other, often for decades.
These loving couples are not recognized as a legal pair and, therefore, cannot file taxes jointly; do not have access to health insurance as a family, and are not allowed to inherit property at the time of death without the hardship of crushing taxes.
In addition, their children are not entitled to all of the rights and protections marriage confers on a family headed by a married couple.
At the April 22 legislative hearing in Augusta on the marriage equality legislation, Dr. Daniel Summers of the American Academy of Pediatrics testified, "It is the quality of parenting that predicts children's psychological and social adjustment, not the parents' sexual orientation or gender."
He added that children raised by same-sex couples "do not differ in any important respect from those raised by heterosexual parents."
Parents, after all, are parents. And every parent wants their children to thrive, to succeed and be valued in society. Isn't that what we all want for Maine children?
Below the fold, a bonus- video of Senator Bliss on the floor of the Senate at the Statehouse, brilliantly addressing his colleagues during his chamber's LD 1020 marriage equality bill debate.
Anyone hear about members of clergy protesting this?Yeah, I THOUGHT not...
Few guys can claim the backing of Starfleet officers when they stand at the altar, but Brad Siegel of Lyman is not your typical groom.
Siegel and his fiancee, Kate Erwin, will tie the knot Sept. 13 at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute in the ultimate "Star Trek"-themed wedding. The ceremony will be held on a replica of the Starship Enterprise bridge, which is part of a traveling exhibition that will be at the museum until Sept. 20.
Initially, the couple, who moved to Maine in December, hoped to marry at a "Star Trek" replica in Las Vegas. But while they were making wedding plans, the attraction was demolished.
Resigned to planning a traditional wedding, Siegel, 53, and Erwin, 34, happened to learn that the Franklin Institute, which is near Erwin's hometown of Phoenixville, Pa., was holding a contest to let one couple host their wedding inside the exhibit.
Siegel and Erwin entered, along with 15 other couples, and on July 21, the results of the public online vote, which followed the selection of the top three by a celebrity panel, revealed that the Mainers had won.
They were ecstatic and quickly began planning their big day.
"Everything we wanted to do in Las Vegas at the original 'Star Trek' exhibit, we can do in Kate's hometown," Siegel said.
Let's check out some of today's steaming pile writings, shall we? It's entitled "Same-sex marriage would be harmful to society"... good to see Ole Bob is keeping his bigoted and hateful mind closed as usual !
If we do not veto this proposed law, it will radically redefine marriage, one of society's oldest and most fundamental institutions. The changes that would result would be so fundamental and far reaching that we certainly should not tamper with it lightly.
... The truth is no society has ever given anyone an unqualified "right" to marry. Instead, they have always regulated marriage entirely for the benefit of society.
Oh, but "Think Of The Children!" (TM)
Children are literally the future of any society. A society that fails to do everything it can to protect and support children is literally risking extinction. This is why societies have always given marriage special status and benefits. They have found out the hard way that anything that encourages men and women to have and rear children within the bounds of a married family benefits society. Anything discouraging that relationship harms society.
So, the fundamental question, the issue really at stake in this people's veto vote, is whether legalizing homosexual marriage would harm this time-tested institution of marriage and thereby harm society as a result. Clearly it would.
It would take a social institution that has always been primarily child-centered and radically redefine it into something completely different, a new institution of genderless marriage. Because it is biologically impossible for two individuals of the same sex to produce children, this new genderless marriage institution would make "marriage" nothing more than an official recognition of two people's professed love for each other.
And certainly we can't have THAT, can we?
Okay, all you elderly newlyweds or childless couples (by biology or by choice)- listen up here!
Because you are NOT able/willing to procreate, YOU ARE HARMING THE INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE AND BY EXTENSION, DAMAGING ALL OF MAINE'S CHILDREN.
You should be deeply ashamed of yourself and immediately acknowledge that your "marriage" is actually a selfish relationship of convenience; marriage is only for those heterosexual couples who ARE or HAVE procreated!
You PERSONALLY are ruining the very moral fabric of Society. How dare YOU???
Still no word of Peter LaBarbera's scheduled, then cancelled, then rescheduled supposed visit to Maine this month... still looking for some truth for the "TRUTH TOUR 2009!!!!!!! he and Mikey Heath went on and on about, back in May.
Maybe that's what Mikey and wifey are looking for in Tanzania, as they can't find any here in Maine.
Anyhoo...
Maine Jeremiah Project Director will be participating in the following event and we encourage you to join us:
Stand For Marriage Rally
Guest speakers include:
Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council
Dr. Kenyn Cureton, VP of Church Ministries, FRC
Pastor Chris Clark, East Clairemont Baptist Church, San Diego.
Jordan Lorence, Senior Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund
Bishop Richard Malone, Portland Diocese
Charla Bansley, Concerned Women for America of Maine
Pastor Bob Emrich, Maine Jeremiah Project
Representatives from Stand For Marriage Maine
Special video message from Dr. James Dobson
DATE: Sunday, September 13th
TIME: 6 to 8:30PM
LOCATION: Augusta Civic Center
Join us as we encourage & equip one another to Protect and Promote Marriage in Maine.
If you need overnight accommodations, the Holiday Inn at the Civic Center has agreed to give a discount ($70 instead of the usual $109-119) if you ask for the Maine Jeremiah Project rate when you call (207-622-4751) or use this web link to make your reservations online.
Tickets are required and may be obtained free of charge via email at
mjp@midmaine.com
It's interesting that SFMM is denouncing "out-of-staters" coming in to help, in light of actions taken back last winter:
Stand for Marriage Rally - Augusta, Maine
Join us as we rally to defeat same-sex marriage in Maine!
When:
Sunday, February 15
6 - 8 PM
Where:
Augusta Civic Center
76 Community Drive, Augusta, ME 04330
Who:
Tony Perkins - Family Research Council
Charla Bansley - Concerned Women for America of Maine
Michael Heath - Maine Family Policy Council
The Hon. Rich Cebra - Maine House of Representatives
Bob Emrich - Maine Jeremiah Project
Admission is free, but ticket is required. To obtain tickets, visit www.mainemarriage.net
Second verse... same as the FIRST!!!
Looky what I found- a video of Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, addressing to Mainers last winter. Take a look:
Well, it takes two to play "Capture The Flag", Tony!
Perkins' words kinda goes against Ole Reverend Bob Emrich's screed regarding marriage's functions and what this is all about here in Maine, huh?
Of the 31,103 verses in the Bible, what are the odds that Larry Stickney would happen to employ in his political campaign the very one that Tony Perkins (Family Research Council) is using to browbeat Christians into doing his own political bidding? Larry Stickney is the campaign manager of the misnamed Protect Marriage Washington, an organization promoting the anti-domestic partnership Referendum 71. Here's Larry in a July 14, 2009 "press release"
My friends, we are in a grave moral crises as a state and nation. A return to the faith and integrity of our forefathers is the only hope we have. We must recover our vision and put 2 Chronicles 7:14 into practice: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land."
R-71 provides us with an opportunity to draw a line in the sand with those who mock our values and institutions and seek to tear them down. We have the chance to "just say no" to our societal descent into depravity.
Here's Tony Perkins describing the scriptural inspiration for his latest political ploy to manipulate Christians for his political ends
The Call 2 Fall Declaration comes straight from the pages of Scripture:
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14).
The journey back to God, to His forgiveness and favor, begins on our knees in humility and repentant prayer.
Stickney is clearly letting Tony Perkins do the thinking for him. And perhaps his own pastor too. It can't be coincidence that Larry invoked this Bible verse shortly after his Referendum 71 comrade (and personal pastor?) Pastor Rick Long of Atonement Free Lutheran Church in Arlington, WA built his July 5th sermon around an extensive list of FRC's talking points and linked them to Referendum 71. The sermon transcript is below the fold. Recitation of FRC talking points begins at about minute 12.
It is clear that Pastor Long and Larry Stickney are using Perkins's model of submission to spark and channel political activism. Look how Perkins doesn't stop after merely catalyzing submission, but makes sure that the newly submissive are readied for active duty:
Consequently, we are sensing the need to return to simple but powerful truths like:
* God is sovereign. He is holy and He is love.
* We are sinners. We are saved from His severity of His wrath toward sin only by the fierceness of His love in Christ.
* When we drift away in disobedience, we experience His discipline. His judgments are just.
* The pathway back must begin with:
o A humility and brokenness before the Lord.
o A desperation to find the face of God.
o A heart cry for the mercy of God.
o A desire to turn from our sinful ways.
o A resolve to return to the ways of God.
This is what the ancient words of Scripture are calling us to do when we speak of a "Call 2 Fall."
I emphasized the blue text, because Perkins provides explicit guidance on how to "return to the ways of God" through directives mailed to churches and posted on the internet. The directives fan moral outrage against President Obama, people with "various forms of sexual perversion: homosexuality, cross-dressing, and gender manipulation/mutilation" and pro-choice advocates. And they call for support or opposition to specific pieces of legislation, like the federal hate crimes bill. Likewise, Larry Stickney immediately followed his invocation of 2 Chronicles 7:14 in his press release with an exhortation to act on Referendum 71.
The connection between Larry Stickney and Tony Perkins is clear. The only thing I can't figure out is whether Larry is consciously using Perkins's model, or has simply become another Perkins zombie.
Tony Perkins and his homo-haters at the Family Research Council are so incensed that former president of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, Kevin Jennings, has been appointed to serve as head of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools at the Dept. of Education, that the org has launched a website, www.stopjennings.org to:
[E]ducate the American people about how Jennings' dangerous views make him unfit to protect our nation's schoolchildren. "Kevin Jennings' record shows he has neither the temperament nor the ethical standards needed for public service," said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. "His history demonstrates disregard for our obligations to safeguard the health and well being of the student population. He is unfit for the post to which he's been assigned, and Secretary Duncan should withdraw his appointment at once."
Jennings and the organization he founded have been the leaders in promoting a pro-homosexual agenda in America's schools, beginning in kindergarten. His positions are extreme and narrow-minded, his rhetoric harsh and hate-filled, and his qualifications and ethical standards questionable at best. For all these reasons, Family Research Council has called upon Education Secretary Arne Duncan to withdraw Jennings' appointment. Here are some key reasons why we believe Kevin Jennings is unfit for public service.
1) Jennings' and GLSEN's concept of "safe schools" means special protections for privileged groups (especially homosexuals), rather than safety for all.
Undoubtedly the key reason why Jennings was appointed was because of GLSEN's long-standing commitment to what they call "safe schools." GLSEN has published "Model State Anti-Bullying & Anti-Harrasment [sic] Legislation." However, it protects against "harassment" only on the basis of "distinguishing characteristics" such as "race, color, national origin, sex, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, [and] religion." It does not even include the category which GLSEN itself has identified as the most common grounds for harassment: "the way they look or their body size." Why not define "harassment" and "bullying" on the basis of the nature of the actual conduct, rather than the characteristics of the victim?
It goes on and on in that vein. And below the fold, the ad FRC plans to run.
It was way back in September 1998, 
...CNS.com reported on August 25th, 2008, that before the Massachusetts legislature had even had a chance to pass a law legalizing homosexual marriages (which they never did), Governor Romney unilaterally and unconstitutionally authorized the illegal alterations to and issuance of marriage licenses to homosexual couples, and even went so far as to demand that justices of the peace who wouldn't perform homosexual "marriages" for moral reasons, resign. 
My friends, we are in a grave moral crises as a state and nation. A return to the faith and integrity of our forefathers is the only hope we have. We must recover our vision and put 2 Chronicles 7:14 into practice: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land."
The Call 2 Fall Declaration comes straight from the pages of Scripture:
Tony Perkins and his homo-haters at the Family Research Council 
