Phil Burress Signs Personhood Petition

Last week, I posted an article entitled, "CCV is Useless".  I still think that is true, but I must give credit where credit is due.  At least Phil Burress, the president of CCV, signed the Personhood Ohio petition.

CCV is Useless

Citizens for Community Values has been traditionally recognized as a organization which helps to promote family values by informing people of the positions of candidates running for office, supporting good legislation, and helping people overcome sexual addictions.  I was disappointed that they stopped showing the answers to candidate survey questions to the public and instead they just give a list of endorsements.  They are supposed to pro-life, but they endorse candidates who have voted for Title X federal funding of Planned Parenthood.

I showed up at the CCV banquet last week.  I did not have a ticket, but I stood outside the banquet hall soliciting the attendees for their signature for the Ohio Personhood Amendment.  After getting about 15 signatures, someone from CCV asked me to leave.  “We don’t allow anything like that at the banquet,” she said.  The attendees all went down to the banquet to salivate over the likes of Gary Bauer and “Title X” Rick (I don’t know if Santorum actually showed or not) while their eating their $60 dinner, but I am not allowed to get signatures at the entryway because it’s “too political”.  I might have endangered their precious 501(c)(3) status, but their support for the Heartbeat Bill, that inferior compromise which would allow thousands babies to continue to be murdered in Ohio every year, is somehow not such a problem. 

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

James 2:15-16 (KJV)

CCV may still do some good things and I have given them contributions in the past.  But I will never do it again.  As far as I’m concerned they are mainly all bark and no bite.

Citizens for Community Values Candidate Survey

At last its here! Citizens for Community Values has excellent candidate survey questionnaires. I saw the answers given for my local candidates. I really like this because they ask good questions of all local candidates—something that no other organization (that I know of) in my area does. But in this election, they also had different questionnaire that was answered by the presidential candidates. I am wondering why the questions they were given were different than for the local candidates. They seem less relevant. The content of this page has changed twice in recent days, so I would strongly suggest checking it again on March 4th (Election Day for Ohio voters) before voting.

In this post, I would like to comment on some of Ron Paul’s answers that some people may not understand. Most of these questions have to with stem cell research, cloning, and such.

1. What form of stem cell research would you permit access to federal funds?
• Therapeutic cloning (SCNT)• Adult stem cell research• Leftover embryos derived from in vitro fertilization• Embryo destructive research• Human/animal hybrids• Umbilical cord blood banks
It says under Ron Paul’s name “Did Not Answer”, but this is because he is against federally funding of any of these types of research. He did in fact, vote against federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

2. Would you support a federal law prohibiting states from engaging in research in which (or which relies on research in which) a human embryo is destroyed?
Ron Paul answered “no”. He is known for his strong beliefs in states rights. But there is another reason for saying “no”. Why have a law specifically prohibiting research? Why not just say that all human life from conception onward should be protected under the law (as Ron Paul has already said). If such a law would not prohibit the destruction of human embryos, but only the research, then it would be completely meaningless. He explains why such a law would be heavy-handed here. Ron Paul’s Sanctity of Life Act, if it had passed, would have actually protected human embryos from destruction.

3. Would you support a federal law prohibiting human cloning?
Ron Paul answered “no”. He did in fact vote against such a law. First of all, though human cloning is an abhorrent procedure, it doesn’t necessarily involve the killing of a human being, and therefore, in these cases, does not violate anyone’s constitutional rights. Secondly, we don't need a specific law for every procedure which does harm to an individual. This issue should be left up to the states.

4. Would you support, and continue, President Bush’s ban on the use of federal funds for research on human embryonic stem cell lines created after August 2001?
Ron Paul answered “no”. I don’t know why, but again, look at his voting record.

5. In light of the recent scientific discoveries regarding skin cells would you support/oppose continuing federal funding of destructive embryonic stem cell research?
Ron Paul gave no answer. Probably because he thinks that recent discoveries are irrelevant.

6. Would you support laws requiring abortion clinics to show all women an ultrasound image of their unborn baby?
Ron Paul gave no answer. These laws neither bring justice to killers nor protect the unborn.

7. Would you support or oppose a federal parental notification law?
Ron Paul said “oppose”. Again this law takes the focus off of what the real issue is—murder. Parental rights have traditionally been an area in which the states have sole authority.

8. Will you support the continuation of the Faith Based Initiative (on the federal level) to guarantee the right of religious social service providers to access federal programs on an equal basis?
Ron Paul said “no”. Government should stay get of the “social service” business altogether. The reasons he gives here are the similar to Alan Keyes statements on this issue.

9. Do you support or oppose federal legislation limiting the ability of government to take private land for private development purposes?
Ron Paul said “support”. Huckabee and McCain gave no answer.

Ron Paul also said that he opposed a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as “one man and one woman” only. Of course he is not in favor of gay marriage, same-sex civil unions, or the like. I explained his opposition to the FMA in a previous post, in which I provided a link to Ron’s opinion on this issue in his own words. Also read this link (scroll down to where it says, “Protect all voluntary associations; don't define marriage”).

For the rest of the questions, Ron Paul gave answers that you would expect a conservative to give.

The presidential candidate portion of the survey I found to be disappointing. One could answer all the questions favorably (from a pro-life standpoint) and still be a total pro-abort. The local candidate questions are better. If you don’t live in Ohio, but want to see more of this survey, click here for republican candidates and here for democratic candidates.

Citizens for Community Values Partner Survey & Response

I received this survey in the mail, retyped it (somewhat abbreviated) here with my responses (I put my answers here in green. The blue text is mine, but I did not actually write it on the survey as I did not have room):

1. Rate the following in terms of relative importance to you (1 = most important and 4 = least important):

1 The harmful effect of PORNOGRAPHY on individuals, families, and communities.
1 The harmful effect of SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES on individuals, families, and communities.
1 PROGRAMS HARMFUL TO CHILDREN, including age-inappropriate materials in libraries, indecent outdoor advertising, indecent broadcasting, etc.
1 Programs that undermine or distort TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY, including the agenda of activists to normalize and promote homosexual and other harmful behaviors.

2. Are you aware of CCV’s Web site, CleanHotels.com, through which you can book hotels that do not offer hardcore, sexually-explicit pay-per-view movies? yes
Have you used the site? no

3. Rate the following in terms of the degree to which you feel that your family and community are threatened. (1 = Serious Threat; 2 = Mild Threat; 3 = No Threat)

1 Public school “diversity” programs
1 Hate crimes legislation
2 Corporate domestic benefits programs*
1 Public school sex education programs that equate homosexual households with traditional families
1 Special rights laws

*The reason why I only put “2” for corporate domestic benefits programs is that all the rest are harmful government legislation, whereas corporations should be allowed to (even through it is very wrong) have such programs. It is their money—they should be allowed to do with it what they want, but we should boycott them if the programs include same-sex sexual partnerships or unmarried domestic sexual partnerships.

4. In which of the following issues affecting family values would you like to see CCV more active?

√ Sanctity of life/Abortion - This is the most important political issue.
√ Human trafficking - No one else is talking about except CCV.
__Expansion of legalized gambling - Getting rid of government-sponsored gambling, such as lotteries is more important than criminalizing it.
__Evolution/Intelligent Design/Creationism - I am a creationist, but none of these ideas should be promoted by government, but this should be left up to parents to decide.
__Abstinence Education – I am in favor of CCV helping parents to educate their children about abstinence. I am against teaching children how to “safely” fornicate themselves, but government does not have the right to coerce parents into abstinence education either. This should be left up to parents to decide.
√ School Choice – Should be absolute.
√ Candidate Information - CCV does a great job of this—especially on abortion.
__Voter Registration
__Cable Choice (unbundling the cable channels that come into your home) - This should be left up to the free market. Local communities should have the right to block offensive programs in their area. Christians should boycott any cable carriers which willingly broadcast filth whether it’s unbundled or not. CCV could play a role in informing the public about which carriers are anti-family.
√ Other Eminent Domain – I am against it.

5. Do you currently receive CCV Perspective e-mails? no – I elected not to because most of the information I would hear from someone else anyway.

6. A. Do you receive the Citizens’ Courier? yes
B. Do you read the Courier? yes, thoroughly
C. Do you respond to Action Steps? sometimes
D. Are there issues or other types of articles that you would like to see covered in the Courier? Citizens should be protected against illegal searches and seizures (without a warrant), and arrests and detentions without being charged with a crime.

7. In this presidential election year, rate each of the qualities, characteristics or issues below in terms of their relative importance in choosing our president. (1 = Essential; 2 = Important; 3 = Not Important).

1 Pro-life - without exceptions is essential.
3 Will work for passage of a Federal Marriage Protection Amendment – The President should, rather, appoint judges who would uphold the Defense of Marriage Act, giving each state the right to not recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
1 Embraces his Christian faith
3 Has a plan for achieving energy independence – This should left up to free market forces.
1 Believes in school choice
1 Has a record of reducing taxes
3 Dedicated to continuing the global war on terror – I am against a general “war on terror”. Wars should be officially declared on specific nations and only the nations who are responsible for violating the sovereignty of the U.S. The war in Iraq is wrong and we should focus on taking military action against Osama Bin Laden and the other top leaders of Al Qaeda. We should not try to police the world of all terrorists.
1 Believes reducing illegal immigration should be a priority
3 Will work to save Social Security and Medicare - I would rather support a candidate who would get rid of these!
1 Opposes government-run health care system – Medicare is a government-run health care system!
2 Will direct the Attorney General to enforce obscenity laws – There should be no national obscenity laws—this is beyond the scope of federal government. However, the states should pass laws regulating filth on the internet and if these laws are violated across state lines, then the Attorney General should take steps to see that they are enforced.
3 Insuring health care for children – This should be left up to free market forces and charities.
3 Increasing the minimum wage – This should be left up to free market forces.

8. Based on the information that you have at this time, which candidate seems to best meet your criteria? Ron Paul

Vote Yes on Ohio Issue One

Election day is only 5 days away. Ohio voters have a chance to help their local officials clean up their neighborhoods of unwanted sexually oriented businesses. Click here to see the AGC bloggers take on this issue and also see the Yes On One Campaign website. We should have a right to live in clean neighborhoods.

Also see www.ohioelectioncentral.com before you vote for candidate information in Ohio (the survey results are not yet available last I checked). They send surveys to every candidate running for any office in Ohio.

Sex Businesses Deceptive Campaign and Why God's People Hate it

Some people don’t understand what the big deal about pornography is. They think that this is something that is completely harmless.

Sandra Theis, a lawyer for Dancers for Democracy was a guest on Lincoln Ware Live. The subject of discussion was the efforts of this group to block legislation in Ohio that would force strip clubs and adult bookstores to close by midnight and criminalize the touching of the strip club dancers by the patrons.

Ms. Theis was not the only scheduled guest for this segment of the program. Some of the actual strip club dancers were going to be on the show, but they had car trouble. (This was surely Divine intervention.) They were going to demonstrate what they thought was the ridiculous requirement of no touching. They said that if this legislation becomes law, you could get 30 days in jail for just accidentally bumping a dancer’s shoulder.

Mr. Ware and his guest argued that many of the dancers were single mothers struggling to make a living or women trying to get through college. This is an overused, short-sighted argument. Not everything that creates jobs is good, and not everything that takes away jobs is bad. In April of 2001 there was riot in downtown Cincinnati in which much property was destroyed. There were a lot of people who were employed to clean up and restore the damaged property. Was this a good thing? Whether or not something creates more net employment should be of no concern when considering legislation. The question of concern that a legislator or voter should ask is, “What is just and right?”

The organization that started this push to get this legislation passed is called Citizens for Community Values. Of course, all the players involved in this political battle know that CCV’s objective is to put out of business as many of these strip clubs as possible. The only reason why they don’t push for an outright ban on stripping and pornography is that they believe that such legislation would be more likely to be struck down by judges legislating from the bench. This type of pragmatic approach has worked well on other issues like abortion (the Alabama legislature has managed to regulate all but one Alabama abortion clinic out of business), even though outright bans are better.

The host, Mr. Ware, denied the seriousness of sexual lust, saying that pornography and strip clubs are an acceptable way for men to spice up their marriages. Not only did he deny that these things lead to worse sins, but he said he thinks there are fewer rapes when men have such a sexual outlet. He belittled Phil Barness (the CCV president) for his claims that he is an “ex-porn addict”. Mr. Barness had been a previous guest on Lincoln Ware Live, but Mr. Ware didn’t have the spine to ridicule Mr. Barness to his face on that day.

Ms. Theis argued that if someone doesn’t want to look at pornography or go to strip clubs, then they don’t have to. Why make a law? My first answer to this is that what they are advocating for is a very addictive sin. My second answer is that it is an abomination to God. How serious is this? Read the following passages:

Psalm 101:3 says, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.”

Galatians 6:7-8 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

Matthew 5:27-29 says, “Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery; But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”

Would anybody reading this dispute that if one believes in the Bible, that it would be reasonable for that person to take extreme measures to avoid such temptations?

The ACLU has in the past, forced public libraries to disable their child-safe internet filters and forced them keep filthy books on their shelves. Rather than fight this, they just pay the extra cost for the all the disinfectant they have to use clean up after all the masturbations.

When I was in school, I had to go to a public school where we forced to look at…well, let me just say photographs of just about everything—all in the name of sex education. They did not leave anything to our imaginations. They did not give us or our parents a choice about whether or not we wanted to look at it. On the deceptively named Citizens for Community Standards website it says, “It's time to restore common sense to Ohio, and it's time to tell our leaders to stop treating adults like children.” What a joke.

In light of all this, it is perfectly reasonable to expect Christians to have no qualms about forcing their morality on other people. The sickening, sexually perverted powers that be will never be satisfied with just feeding their own sexual addictions. They will force it on everyone to the bitter end.

If you agree, and you live in Ohio, here is what you can do. Don’t sign the petition being circulated by Citizens for Community Standards. (They chose this name to deceive people into thinking that they are CCV.) Vote yes on this issue if gets on the ballot (yes means this legislation goes into law). You can email Lincoln Ware and Sandra Theis and tell them to read Matthew 18:3-14 and tell them that if they don't repent, they will burn in hell.

Sexploitation, Ohio Porn Pimps To Contest CDA

The following article is based on information recently received from Citizens for Community Values (CCV). CCV was instrumental in bringing about needed regulation of the sex business in Ohio.

THE NEW LAW

On June 6 the Community Defense Act (CDA) – with its two practical regulations on all sexually oriented businesses – became the law in Ohio. According to Ohio’s constitution, a law goes into effect 60 days after it becomes law. By that provision, CDA would go into effect in late August.

Passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the state's legislators, CDA, or S.B.16, places two practical, crime-preventing regulations on all peep booths, massage parlors, adult bookstores, strip bars and other sex-oriented businesses. One regulation would require all such businesses

· to close between midnight and 6:00am, the time period during which law enforcement officials testify that the crimes associated with these businesses increase.

· The other would prevent physical contact between nude or semi-nude employees of sex clubs and patrons, thereby preventing the prostitution commonly associated with strip clubs.

THE RESPONSE OF THE SEX PEDDLERS

Ohio strip clubs and other sex-oriented businesses are desperate to preserve their unregulated, immoral and ungodly business status. They seek to take unfettered advantage of the prurient interests of men. Like legalized gambling, sexually-oriented businesses ultimately will destroy degrade and dehumanize individuals, families and communities. These decadent businesses are now fighting back to kill CDA before it is even goes into effect. They apparently will employ two basic strategies.

STRATEGY ONE – PUT IT ON THE BALLOT

The deception begins! On Thursday June 7, a spokesperson for the Buckeye Association of Club Executives (BACE) announced that the organization was collecting signatures to initiate a referendum, which would block the recently enacted Community Defense Act (CDA) from becoming effective on September 4 as scheduled and instead would place the measure on the November ballot.

Upon hearing of the referendum attempt, CCV's Vice President of Public Policy, David Miller, referred to an independent statewide poll taken in May that confirmed widespread popular support for the protective measures of CDA. "They would have to be successful in completely misleading the public about this anti-crime law in order to have it voted off the books," said Miller in CCV's Thursday press release.

Miller’s words were prophetic. The deception already has begun! BACE spokesperson Sandy Theiss announced yesterday that the sex business group had created a political action committee to spearhead the referendum effort - and further announced that it would be called "Citizens for Community Standards," an obvious attempt to tie into CCV's reputation and name.

"Their signature collection effort and public campaign will make use of the take-off name in hopes of misleading people into thinking that our organization is behind their effort," said Miller.

STRATEGY TWO – JUDICIAL ACTIVISM

Additionally, immediately upon passage of CDA, a spokesperson for the strip club industry announced that the industry would challenge the law in court. The strip club attorneys will request a temporary restraining order to prevent the law from going into effect during the challenge. Then they will seek out a sympathetic District Court judge willing to "legislate from the bench" in their favor. The case will go from there to the 6th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals, which CCV says that it is confident that the court will uphold CDA . . .

CCV advices concerned citizens to "Challenge anything you see or hear in the media about CDA or S. B.16," warned Miller. "Seventy-five percent (75%) of Ohio's legislators and our governor already have signed off on the constitutionality of this bill. CDA is desperately needed to protect our communities, our families, and the women who work within this crime-ridden industry."

TAKE ACTION

If you can provide financial assistance in the campaign to counter this deception and insure that CDA becomes law, click here.