TBC NewsWatch

National Sexuality Standard/Parental Rights?

Citizen Link Blog, Cushman, 1/10/12: National “Sexuality Standards” vs. Parental Rights? [Excerpts]—The Associated Press (Hefling, AP Education Writer, Washington DC, 1/10/12) is running a story in nationwide news outlets promoting the advent of “national sexuality education standards.”

What this actually amounts to is a wish list put together by some of the largest “safe sex,” abortion and homosexual advocacy groups in the nation—who are using this as a marketing campaign to get their agenda promoted in your local schools.

[The] promoters, developers and “advisory committee” members attributed in the report, include:

• the nation’s largest teachers union, the National Education Association

• the nation’s largest homosexual activist group devoted entirely to targeting kids in K-12 schools—GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network

• Planned Parenthood Federation of America and SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States)

So what do these groups actually want taught in schools? Here is just a sampling:

“By the end of the 2nd grade, students should be able to…identify different kinds of family structures” and “Demonstrate ways to show respect for different types of families.” [TBC: They are redefining the meaning of “family.”]

“By the end of the 5th grade, students should be able to…define sexual orientation as the romantic attraction of an individual to someone of the same gender or a different gender.”

“By the end of the 8th grade, students should be able to…access accurate information about gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.” (Translation: By 8th grade, students should be given contact information, Web sites and advocacy-based resources from homosexual and transgender activists groups).

“By the end of the 8th grade, students should be able to…describe the steps to using a condom correctly.”

“By the end of the 12th grade, students should be able to…analyze the influence of friends, family, media, society and culture on the expression of gender, sexual orientation and identity….”

“By the end of the 12th grade, students should be able to…compare and contrast the laws relating to pregnancy, adoption, abortion and parenting.”

Even more disturbing than these “standards,” is the lack of guidance in the report for how schools should respect the rights of parents who want to direct how, when and if their children are exposed to controversial topics like homosexuality, abortion and condom instruction.

[TBC: This is evil masquerading as social good.]

Oklahoma Ban on Sharia Unconstitutional

AP, 1/10/2012: Oklahoma city court ban on Islamic law unconstitutional [Excerpts]—An amendment that would ban Oklahoma courts from considering international or Islamic law discriminates against religions, and a Muslim community leader has the right to challenge its constitutionality, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.

The court in Denver upheld U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange’s order blocking implementation of the amendment shortly after it was approved by 70 percent of Oklahoma voters in November 2010.

MuneerAwad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Oklahoma, sued to block the law from taking effect, arguing that the Save Our State Amendment violated his First Amendment rights. The amendment read, in part: “The courts shall not look to the legal precepts of other nations or cultures. Specifically, the courts shall not consider international law or Sharia law.”

Backers argued that the amendment intended to ban all religious laws, that Islamic law was merely named as an example and that it wasn’t meant as a specific attack on Muslims. The court disagreed.

“That argument conflicts with the amendment’s plain language, which mentions Sharia law in two places,” the appeals court opinion said. Awad argued that the ban on Islamic law would likely affect every aspect of his life as well as the execution of his will after his death. The appeals court pointed out that Awad made a “strong showing” of potential harm.

“When the law that voters wish to enact is likely unconstitutional, their interests do not outweigh Mr. Awad’s in having his constitutional rights protected,” the court said.

Educator “Exiled” for Beliefs

OneNewsNow, 1/11/2012: Kellogg, Educator Exiled for Beliefs, [Excerpts]—A distinguished university professor is suing his school, claiming that he is being discriminated against for his views on creation and intelligent design.

John Oller, a communicative disorders professor at University of Louisiana-Lafayette, writes and lectures on creation and intelligent design, arguing linguistic and genetic complexities are not a matter of chance. For this reason, the university has severely restricted his teaching opportunities. David Hacker of the Alliance Defense Fund describes the discrimination that the educator faces.

“Despite a stellar academic record, this professor has found himself exiled from participating in the instruction of any department students simply because he holds views that some university officials don’t favor,” Hacker explains. As a result of that, he says Professor Oller feels he has no choice but to sue the university.

“Universities, which are supposed to be a marketplace of ideas, are increasingly censoring views that challenge campus orthodoxy,” Hacker points out. “It is our hope that this lawsuit will vindicate Dr. Oller’s academic freedom while demonstrating the right of professors to pursue the truth without censorship when their academic conclusions don’t match the fashionable consensus.”

The lawsuit contends that Professor Oller’s First Amendment rights and the university’s own Academic Freedom Policy have been violated.

40 Lashes for Becoming Christian

Voice of the Martyrs, Harp, 1/10/2012: Woman Given 40 Lashes in Front of Hundreds for Becoming Christian, [Excerpts]—There is a serious cost to being a Christian in Somalia....Compass International reports that twenty-eight year old Sofia Osman was publically whipped and given forty lashes because she converted from Islam to Christianity.  Spectators cheered as she was given the public flogging and some even thought she had died as a result of the punishment, which was given upon her release from the Islamic extremist al Shabaab militants who had custody of her since November 2011.

We would ask for your prayers for healing for Sofia. Please pray for her physical healing as she recovers from this horrific beating and most importantly that she would remain strong in her faith for Christ.

Sofia has been a Christian for four years and came to faith while in the underground church in war-torn Africa.

[TBC: The 40 lashes were the judgment of Sharia Law, the same Sharia Law that the people in Oklahoma voted overwhelmingly to keep out of their state but was recently overturned by a federal appeals court.]