Monthly Archives: June 2010

Media lauds suspect “study” on same-sex parenting

by julaineappling

Late yesterday afternoon, a reporter from Channel 27 in Madison called our office and wanted a comment on a story about a study that was released recently supposedly showing that  children conceived through “sperm donors” with lesbian parents excel in comparison to their counterparts in heterosexual families.  We told the reporter that we had not seen the study and were not in a position to comment.

Channel 27 ran the story last night.  Meanwhile, we did our research–with superb help from our great friends and associates at Focus on the Family (in this instance, a blogger/policy expert for Focus’s CitizenLink) and Family Research Council (Tony Perkin’s Washington Update).  Here’s some of what we have found:

  • The study was published in the journal Pediatrics and done by the Williams Institute (also referred to at times as the UCLA Foundation), an organization dedicated to advancing the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) agenda.   It is heavily funded by the Gill Foundation, a foundation that exclusively supports LGBT efforts.  Tim Gill is an open homosexual who made his fortune in the software industry (Quark) and is now giving his time and money to promoting homosexuality through his foundation and through his political work in state government across the country (e.g., flipping Wisconsin’s State Assembly in 2008).
  • The study’s sample  is not random, is not representative, and is very small. (Lesbian mothers volunteered, and represented only the following geographic areas:  Boston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco.)
  • The data were gathered essentially from the mothers themselves and from interviews and questionnaires completed by the children, making the data highly suspect.   (Really.  I”m not making this up.  Quoting from page 1 of the study itself, under heading “Results”:  “According to their mothers’ reports…” )
  • The assumptions are faulty.  They assume two mothers does not affect children; any behavioral or psychosocial problems are attributed to “stigmatization.”
  • The study basically says men are unnecessary in parenting, in spite of what research continues to show is in the best interest of children–to be reared by their married mother and father.
  • The study ignores (hardly surprising) research released last week that shows that children conceived through “sperm donation” have some significant issues and such children who are in the homes of two lesbian women reported that, among other things, they believe it is wrong to intentionally conceive a fatherless child.

You be the judge.  Watch what Channel 27 did with the story–and see if you think they lauded the study or handled it for what it really is–pretty laughable because of its shoddy scientific approach.  But that happens when you set out to do “research” that proves your point.

The Lottery, A Zero-Sum Game

by Amy Lewis

This week’s radio commentary…

What’s more Wisconsin than Klement’s Famous Racing Sausages?  You know, the six varieties of sausages that entertain the fans during the Brewers’ home games each season.  Apparently, what’s at least as Wisconsin as those sausages is the state lottery the sausages are now being used to advertise.  Hey, it’s all just fun and games, right? It’s just baseball, apple pie, sausages and gambling.  Really?

Last year the Wisconsin Problem Gambling Helpline received 14,604 calls – setting a record for the helpline. The Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling estimates that five-to-seven percent of Wisconsin’s population may be problem or compulsive gamblers. That may not seem like a lot but with a population of over 5 ½ million, that comes out to over 282,783 thousand people in the state, or 1 in every 19, with a serious gambling problem and that is a problem.

Listen to/download the MP3…

Read the transcript…

Pro-Family PAC Announces New Endorsements for State Senate and Assembly

by Amy Lewis

Madison—Wisconsin Family Action Political Action Committee (WFA PAC) announced another round of endorsed candidates today for the following State Senate and State Assembly races:

Assembly District 14 – Dale Kooyenga
Assembly District 14 – Chris Maurer
Assembly District 14 – David Coon
Assembly District 67 – Don Moga
Assembly District 71 – Robert Scovill
Senate District 25 – Dane Deutsch
Senate District 29 – Pamela Galloway
Senate District 29 – Kevin Hermening

“We are pleased to endorse candidates who are committed to strengthening and preserving Wisconsin’s best natural resource—the family,” said Julaine Appling, Director of the WFA PAC. “These candidates understand that strengthening and preserving the family means public policy that, at the very least, does no harm to the family unit and at best, creates an environment where families can provide for themselves, parents have control over their child’s education, marriage is respected and promoted, life is sacred and individuals are encouraged to take responsibility and to exercise ingenuity and enterprise.

“We believe these candidates strongly represent the values and principles Wisconsin citizens hold dear, and we applaud them for taking on the incredibly hard task of running for office. WFA PAC wishes each of them all the best on the campaign trail.”

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Authorized and paid for by Wisconsin Family Action PAC, Judith Brant, Treasurer. Not authorized by any candidate or by any candidate’s agent or committee.

Link to the PDF

Where’s Your Voice? Part 1

by Amy Lewis

Today I’m starting a weekly series I’m calling Where’s Your Voice? I’ll be posting it over at badgersalt.ning.com.  So sign up, sign in and join the conversation!

Here’s a preview…

One of the major aspects of our work here at WFC/WFA is to educate, motivate and mobilize Christians to get involved in their communities.  We are huge advocates of people taking their Christian voice into the public square.  We have the religious freedom as Americans to do so, at least right now, and we have the obligation and privilege to do so, as followers of Christ.

UW Hospital & Clinics’ affair with abortions

by Amy Lewis

The prestigious UW Hospital & Clinics (UWHC) name is officially sullied by its love affair with providing abortions.  Over a year ago the pro-life community in Wisconsin exposed a secret plan to provide late, 2nd-trimester abortions (one of the most horrific abortion procedures) at the Madison Surgery Center (MSC), a joint venture of UWHC, the UW Medical Authority Board and Meriter Hospital.

Thanks to the unprecedented effort of pro-life organizations, attorneys and individuals, the MSC will not be providing those abortions, but fear not!  UWHC is still dead set on providing those barbarous abortions, at an undisclosed location, for “security reasons.”  Because the peaceful, prayerful protests against the plan have been so scary…to UWHC, Merital Hospital and the MSC’s bottom line and reputation.

Now, the state Attorney General is recommending an official audit of UWHC for violating state law prohibiting the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortion.  Apparently, UWHC has been paying resident physicians to work at the Madison Planned Parenthood abortion mill where the physicians are trained to perform abortions.

>> read more here

Presidential Proclamation–Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month

by Amy Lewis

If you have harbored any doubts as to where President Obama is in regards to the homosexual agenda, you needn’t doubt any longer.

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
May 28, 2010

Presidential Proclamation–Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month

As Americans, it is our birthright that all people are created equal and deserve the same rights, privileges, and opportunities.  Since our earliest days of independence, our Nation has striven to fulfill that promise.  An important chapter in our great, unfinished story is the movement for fairness and equality on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.  This month, as we recognize the immeasurable contributions of LGBT Americans, we renew our commitment to the struggle for equal rights for LGBT Americans and to ending prejudice and injustice wherever it exists.

LGBT Americans have enriched and strengthened the fabric of our national life.  From business leaders and professors to athletes and first responders, LGBT individuals have achieved success and prominence in every discipline.  They are our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, and our friends and neighbors.  Across my Administration, openly LGBT employees are serving at every level.  Thanks to those who came before us    the brave men and women who marched, stood up to injustice, and brought change through acts of compassion or defiance    we have made enormous progress and continue to strive for a more perfect union.

My Administration has advanced our journey by signing into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which strengthens Federal protections against crimes based on gender identity or sexual orientation.  We renewed the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides life saving medical services and support to Americans living with HIV/AIDS, and finally eliminated the HIV entry ban.  I also signed a Presidential Memorandum directing hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds to give LGBT patients the compassion and security they deserve in their time of need, including the ability to choose someone other than an immediate family member to visit them and make medical decisions.

In other areas, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a series of proposals to ensure core housing programs are open to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.  HUD also announced the first ever national study of discrimination against members of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing.  Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services has created a National Resource Center for LGBT Elders.

Much work remains to fulfill our Nation’s promise of equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.  That is why we must give committed gay couples the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple, and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.  We must protect the rights of LGBT families by securing their adoption rights, ending employment discrimination against LGBT Americans, and ensuring Federal employees receive equal benefits.  We must create safer schools so all our children may learn in a supportive environment.  I am also committed to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” so patriotic LGBT Americans can serve openly in our military, and I am working with the Congress and our military leadership to accomplish that goal.

As we honor the LGBT Americans who have given so much to our Nation, let us remember that if one of us is unable to realize full equality, we all fall short of our founding principles.  Our Nation draws its strength from our diversity, with each of us contributing to the greater whole.  By affirming these rights and values, each American benefits from the further advancement of liberty and justice for all.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2010 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.  I call upon all Americans to observe this month by fighting prejudice and discrimination in their own lives and everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-proclamation-lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender-pride-month

Not your typical Robin Hood

by Amy Lewis

The State Dept of Revenue just audited the Wisconsin Lottery and found that:

  1. It is in full compliance with all statutory and constitutional provisions. (We disagree.  Our state constitution prohibits the use of public funds or lottery revenue to pay for promotional advertising.  And yet the program spends $7.2 million annually on “informational advertising.”  I’m sure that you’d agree there’s nothing “promotional” about this.)
  2. Ticket sales totaled $473.4 million for fiscal year 2008-09, down 4.3% from 2007-08.
  3. Operating expenses totaled $344.5 million in 2008-09, down 2.5% from 2007-08 (despite the 4.3% decrease in sales).
  4. $132.4 million of lottery proceeds were used for property tax relief (the purported purpose of the lottery’s existence).

This is just ludicrous.  The state facilitates the “liquidation” of $473.4 million of Wisconsin citizens’ private funds to award $132.4 million worth of tax credits.  I understand that gambling is “voluntary,” but isn’t this rather like preying on the disadvantaged (check out the demographics on lottery players) to feed…the disadvantaged?  The state lottery is all-around just a bad idea.

The Dept of Revenue bemoans the fact that the state lottery is not recession-proof, as expected (and I quote from the audit: “recession-proof: sales will increase during an economic downturn as people look to change their fortunes overnight.”), but rejoices that it is at least recession-resistant.

Where have I seen this attitude before toward the plight of the Wisconsin citizen during a recession?  Oh, that’s right!  The State Capitol, where Robin Hood, who looks eerily like Prince John, robs…er, excessively taxes, the rich, the average and the poor, to feed the poor state government.