Dear Fellow believers, I would recommend each of you to subscribe to this newsletter put out by Focus on the Family. Please read the following newsletter. You will never see this in your local, national, or world news.......Rick --------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Citizen Link <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2001 16:10:43 -0600 Subject: Daily Update (June 4, 2001) Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ///// CITIZENLINK ///// June 4, 2001 U.N. ASSAULTS GENDER ROLES: The United Nations is poised again to advance the goals of feminists at the expense of families. http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/A0016201.html IND. CITY MULLS NEXT STEP IN TEN COMMANDMENTS CASE: The Supreme Court has decided not to decide on a Ten Commandments display. http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/A0016200.html ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS FUEL CONCERN IN BLACK COMMUNITY: A federal report has triggered alarm and calls for moral reform -- beginning with black leaders. http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/A0016198.html Encourage a friend to sign up for this e-mail: http://www.family.org/cforum/clinksignup.cfm To visit our Web site: http://www.citizenlink.org To contact your congressman or senators: http://www.family.org/citizenaction +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ EDITOR'S PICKS: Tools for Engaging Your World "Why Christians Need to Get Involved" http://www.family.org/resources/itempg.cfm?itemid=684&refcd=1CEFCZL&tvar= no Echoing a passionate call to love our communities the way Jesus did, "Why Christians Need to Get Involved" presents a lively and biblical call to action that will inspire you and others to take action against the darkness that threatens our culture. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ================================== FAMILY NEWS IN FOCUS STORIES -------------------------------------------------------------------- U.N. Assaults Gender Roles By Dave Clark, correspondent SUMMARY: The United Nations is poised again to advance the goals of feminists at the expense of families. Countries are being pressured by the United Nations (U.N.) to agree to the idea that sex roles are no more than "social constructs." The question being raised is whether the differences between boys and girls are inherent or imposed later? To Angela King, the U.N. Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, the answer is simple. "(W)e see that these are only social constructs that evolve and are not written in stone," King said. King is helping to promulgate a new ideology that denies that sex roles are based in nature. Under this definition, gender consists of "the social attributes and opportunities associated with being male and female . . . (t)hat are learned through socialization." "There are certain countries that wish a degree of sexual freedom," King said. "But, you know, the whole idea of the United Nations is not for one group to impose on another group." Apparently, King has not heard about Nicaragua and its former minister of family affairs, Max Padilla. "Max Padilla disagreed with the idea of gender as a social construct and he was fired from his job" because of it, said Austin Ruse, who directs the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, a group that monitors the U.N. "The Scandinavian countries (working in conjunction with U.N. agencies) threatened to withhold development assistance (because of Padilla's challenge to the gender definition), and so Max Padilla had to lose his job. Nicaragua changed its definition of gender. This is how the radicals beat up on smaller countries." Ironically, the U.N. General Assembly has never agreed to the new definition of gender. But, as the Nicaragua experience illustrates, the assembly's authority can be effectively co-opted by special interests working through the U.N.'s agencies. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Ind. City Mulls Next Step in Ten Commandments Case By Stuart Shepard, correspondent SUMMARY: What's next for the city of Elkhart, Ind., now that the Supreme Court has decided not to decide on a Ten Commandments display? In 1956, Charlton Heston was Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's, "The Ten Commandments" -- a movie that sparked a nationwide interest in God's law. In 1958, the Elkhart Fraternal Order of Eagles paid for a granite monument of the Ten Commandments in connection with the movie studio. It stood in front of city hall for 40 years before two people sued to have it removed, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union. "We believe in what the monument stands for," said city spokesman Josh Mann. The Court's refusal sends the case back to federal district court -- to the same judge who originally ruled the monument acceptable. That judge is now constrained to somehow "remedy" the situation. Mann said city attorneys are already researching a compromise solution, but for now the monument will stay where it is. "We're trying to figure out if the best way to do it is to add other monuments to it," Mann said. "Maybe, it's possible to give or sell off the land to some sort of private entity." American Center for Law and Justice attorney Frank Manion said he was disappointed the Supreme Court passed on taking up the case, but said the legal issue is not over. "We won't find out what they think about the one in Elkhart, but we've got news for them -- there's a dozen more cases like it where this one comes from," Manion said. As a consequence, a high-level decision will be needed. "Unless we're going to have a patchwork quilt of court decisions across the country, the Supreme Court's going to have to step in and let us know what it thinks," Manion said. He pointed out that even the Supreme Court has an image of Moses with the Commandments on its courtroom wall. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Illegitimate Births Fuel Concern in Black Community By Dave Clark, correspondent SUMMARY: A report by the National Center for Health Statistics has triggered alarm and calls for moral reform - - beginning with black leaders. African-American pastor, the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, remembers how it used to be: If a woman got pregnant out of wedlock, it was an embarrassment to the family. "And now, there's a celebration. They have baby showers, they invite people over," Peterson said. "To me, that is a national disgrace." But illegitimate births have now soared to almost 70 percent of all babies born in America's black communities, according to a new report from the federal government. Even black leaders have succumbed to the trend. Both the Rev. Jesse Jackson and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown have admitted fathering illegitimate children, even while they maintain highly visible public positions. Peterson, the president of Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny, said the poor examples they set are symptoms of a larger problem. "You have people claiming leadership of the African- American community, when a lot of the things that they believe in and are pushing are not the beliefs of the majority of the African-American community," said David Almasi, who speaks for the National Leadership Network of Conservative African-Americans. "There's been a lot of wool being pulled over a lot of eyes," Almasi said. Peterson, meantime, said it is time that people wake up. "The black family is suffering because the black man is not in order," he said. "The government is the 'daddy' of the family, for the most part, in the black community. Black Americans have been told that they're being kept down due to racism. I've said that (it) is due to lack of character." Peterson and Almasi are calling on black ministers and other community leaders to set a higher standard. The study shows that out-of-wedlock births affect all races. FOR MORE INFORMATION: To read the report, see the National Center for Health Statistics Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr49/nvsr49_01.pdf (Note: These links are provided for informational purposes only, and do not imply an endorsement of their contents by Focus on the Family.) ======================================================== CITIZENLINK is a policy and culture information service of Focus on the Family, a ministry sustained by the contribution and prayers of supporters. This e-mail may not be used for commercial or political purposes. If you would like further information on Family News in Focus stories, call (800) 782-8227. REMOVAL INSTRUCTIONS: If you would like to be removed from the list, please send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the text UNSUBSCRIBE LINKMEMBERS as the body of your message. Copyright (c) 2001, Focus on the Family. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. You are encouraged to send this e-mail to others in its entirety, without any changes, for noncommercial and nonpolitical use only. For permission to reprint any of these articles, please send your request in writing to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or by fax at 719-548-4525. ========================================================== _______ To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://rangernet.org/subscribe.htm http://rangernet.org Autoresponder: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
