THE ISSUE:

Dawn Hawkins, executive director of the anti-pornography non-profit Morality in Media, witnessed a man watching violent, pseudo-child pornography on her Delta flight from Baltimore to Detroit on February 17, 2012. The male flight attendant refused to do anything about the situation, or even ask the man to refrain from looking at such content. When Dawn confronted the man, a middle aged woman commented, “Be quiet. No one cares.”

THE EFFECT:

As you’ll hear Dawn comment in the attached video, pornography is a leading cause for sexual violence and assault, and contributes to sexual slavery and the breakdown of families. This is no small matter, and we hope YOU care.

TAKE ACTION:

Please take a few minutes to contact Delta and express your interest in a policy to prohibit pornography on their flights. Click here to send an e-mail. We recommend that you write a letter in your own words, but you are also welcome to use the following draft:

I recently heard about Dawn Hawkins’ experience on her Delta flight from Baltimore to Detroit on February 17, 2012. She sat near a man who was viewing pornography–possibly child pornography–and the violence and obscenity of it made her feel very uncomfortable. When she asked a flight attendant to intervene, he did nothing and said there was nothing he could do.

Do you have plans to enact a policy to disallow patrons from viewing pornography on your flights? Pornography is a leading cause for sexual violence and assault; I hope that the next time I board a Delta flight I can rest assured that I and my family members will be in an environment that promotes safety and comfort for all passengers. Thank you for your time.

The article also cites an 8-year-old second-grader in L.A. that at 18 months announced “I a boy” and the parents now refer to the child as a boy and “is watching for the first signs of puberty.” This, the article says, is a “typical patient.” The child’s mother says that when “he” was told he could get shots to block breast development, “he was so excited.”

Leading the charge is Dr. Norman Spack of Boston’s Children’s Hospital, a doctor who is no stranger to media attention for his work. “If you open the doors, these are the kids who come,” Dr. Spack says. “They’re out there.” He even goes as far as to say that the psychiatric diagnosis of “gender identity disorder” is a “misnomer” and that one in every 10,000 children have the condition.

Dr. Margaret Moon, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ bioethics committee, cites ethical concerns with offering sex-changing treatment to kids under the age of eighteen. She says that some kids may get a psychiatric diagnosis when they are just uncomfortable with “narrowly defined gender roles” and that it is harmful “to have an irreversible treatment too early.”

Dr. Spack’s “Gender Management Service” clinic opened in 2007, and he reports a fourfold increase in patients, up to 19 each year, versus four in the late 1990s. Once younger children begin to show signs of puberty, they are given puberty-blocking drugs, in monthly injections or implants imbedded in the arm. Sex hormones can have serious side effects, including blood clots and cancer.

The article concludes with comments from Dr. Jo Olson, medical director of a transgender clinic at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Olson said the journal reports should help persuade more doctors to offer these kids sex-changing treatment or refer them to specialists who will. “It would be so nice to move this out of the world of mental health, and into the medical world,” Olson said.

Source: Associated Press (Boston.com)

The article points out that “the economic and social rewards of marriage” are going towards those with college educations, a group that still has largely resisted the trend towards out-of-wedlock births. Remarkably, the New York Times – the newspaper of record – recognizes that marriage provides “economic and social rewards,” a fact that is consistently lacking the mainstream media.

They go as far as to say that children are suffering from the trend, facing elevated risks of falling into poverty, failing in school and suffering emotional and behavioral problems. Another key fact is that almost “all of the rise in non-marital births has occurred among couples living together.” The social stigma of cohabiting before marriage fell first, and now the stigma of out-of-wedlock births has followed. In the U.S., a cohabitation relationship is more than twice as likely to dissolve than a marriage.

The MFI bottom line: A married father and mother, not the government, is the best Department of Health, Education and Welfare!

Source: New York Times

In concert with this observance comes the bi-annual 40 Days for Life, a national, ecumenical pro-life effort that consists of 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion and peaceful vigil outside abortion facilities. Too often we fall into the pop culture trap of abstaining from chocolate or cheese or something else we deem “barred for us,” robbing ourselves of the true benefits of this season.

40 Days for Life presents us with an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of women, pre-born children and our at-large society. The campaign is run in hundreds of cities across the country in both spring and fall, with this season’s campaign running from today until April 1. Here in Massachusetts, the communities of Attleboro, Haverhill, Lynn, Springfield and Worcester are participating.

For you personally, participation can come in many different forms: praying at one of the public vigils, remembering the campaign in your daily prayers, and fasting in support of the campaign. I encourage you to visit this page on our website, find the location closest to you, contact the coordinator and get involved in any way that you can.

While the heart of the 40 Days for Life is the scourge of abortion and the protection pre-born life, we cannot forget our efforts in Massachusetts to stop doctor-prescribed death both at the State House and at the ballot box. We have all committed ourselves to protecting life, from conception to natural death, as our opponents continue their efforts to infringe on people’s right to life.

The 40 Days for Life is truly a rewarding time, one that makes the observance of Lent that much more powerful. Please join me in making a difference in your life and others’ by putting the sanctity of life at the forefront of your Lenten observance this year.

For our families,

Kris

In Washington State, where leaders ignored the people and signed a same-sex marriage bill into law, PreserveMarriageWashington.com was prepared. The group set its referendum movement into motion the minute same-sex marriage became official. Under state law, natural marriage supporters literally have until D-Day, June 6, to collect 120,577 signatures for what locals are calling R-74, or Referendum 74. To get involved in the people’s response, log on to the website and look for ways to help! Fortunately, New Jersey voters didn’t have to resort to a ballot initiative because Gov. Chris Christie (R) stood by his long-time promise and vetoed a bill to redefine marriage in the Garden State. “I am adhering to what I’ve said since this bill was first introduced–an issue of this magnitude and importance, which requires a constitutional amendment, should be left to the people of New Jersey to decide.” State leaders have two years to override the veto, but they’d need significantly more support for the effort–12 more votes in the Assembly and three more votes in the Senate. In the meantime, Gov. Christie has blocked them. And the Tar Heels will soon have the chance to do their part. Polling shows that voters are still strongly in favor a marriage amendment in North Carolina, where a May ballot initiative is planned.

LeBlanc also writes that there “was plenty of out-of-state lobbying money flowing into Massachusetts,” including more than $863,000 over just the last three years from Development Associates, LLC, a Las Vegas-based subsidiary of casino and hotel developer Steve Wynn. Las Vegas Sands Corporation spent nearly $473,000 during the same period.

Source: Associated Press (Boston.com)

With Microsoft and several other major firms, Starbucks last month endorsed the effort of some of the Evergreen State’s leading politicians to enact homosexual “marriage.”  Although this initiative passed in the state legislature and was signed into law by departing Gov. Christine Gregoire, it likely will be on the state ballot in November.

What is a bit maddening, given Starbucks’ strident advocacy for the redefinition of marriage, is CEO Howard Schultz’s claim that he is non-political.  As he said just a few days ago, ”I have no interest in public office … I have only one interest, and that is I want the country to be on the right track.”

***

Additionally, Schultz’s decrying of divisiveness rings a bit hollow when he plunges his company feet-first into the culture wars.  The effort to redefine marriage to include same-sex partners is a radical social innovation, one fraught with dangerous implications for individuals, families, and culture.  Claiming to be post-political and then allowing one’s chief corporate spokesperson to say that same-sex “marriage” is “is core to who we are and what we value as a company” are assertions that don’t quite add up.

So, for now, at least, I will buy my overpriced flavored coffees elsewhere.  I dislike boycotts for a number of reasons, but am undertaking a personal one at present.  Being for marriage, as understood in the Judeo-Christian context and Western tradition, is much more to “the core of who I am” than a Starbucks iced mocha ever will be.

CLICK HERE to read his full column.

Marriage between one man and one woman is the foundation for the healthy family. This has been proven time and time again by thousands of social science studies and by history itself. The married mother and father remain the ideal for the raising of children.  A stronger marriage culture will in turn help curtail poverty and benefit children.

Marriage works. It makes people happier, live longer, and build more economic security. Children with a married father and mother likewise live healthier lives and perform better in school.

Divorce and unwed childbearing costs taxpayers a whopping $112 billion annually – nearly $1 billion in Massachusetts alone. In these challenging economic times, building stronger marriages is a key solution and helps build a stronger nation.

MFI is participating with Family Life Ministries to promote The Art of Marriage®, a new one-and-a-half day video event built and designed to be used by churches, small groups or as a community wide event.

The Art of Marriage® consists of six video sessions and an accompanying manual that provide couples with projects to help apply the principles taught during each session. The Art of Marriage® brings together some of the most respected and influential pastors and experts on marriage and family all in one setting. It also brings a fresh approach to a video event by weaving together dramas, interviews and testimonies to help couples to fully experience God’s design for marriage. You can find out more at their website, www.theartofmarriage.com.

MFI recently partnered with Trinity Evangelical Church in North Reading to host a “The Art of Marriage” Couple’s Seminar on Friday, February 10, 7:00-9:30 p.m. and Saturday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Over 70 couples attended and found the seminar to be extremely rewarding in strengthening their marriages. We encourage you to find out how you help marriage, and to consider hosting The Art of Marriage® at your church or community center.

For our families,

40 Days for Life locations in Massachusetts for the Spring 2012 campaign:

40 DAYS FOR LIFE – ATTLEBORO, MA
website: 40daysforlife.com/Attleboro
contact: 40DFLAttleboro@comcast.net
vigil site:
Four Women, Inc., 150 Emory St., Attleboro, MA

40 DAYS FOR LIFE – HAVERHILL, MA
website: 40daysforlife.com/Haverhill
contact: John Fleury, Prolifemethuen@aol.com, 978-685-8754 (H)
vigil site:
Merrimack Valley Women’s Health Services, 288 Groveland Street, Haverhill, MA  01830

40 DAYS FOR LIFE – LYNN, MA
website: 40daysforlife.com/Lynn
contact: Cori Connor-Morse, cconnorcpa@aol.com
vigil site:
North Shore Women’s Center, 480 Lynnfield Street, Lynn, MA

40 DAYS FOR LIFE – SPRINGFIELD
website: 40daysforlife.com/Springfield
contact: 40daysWM@gmail.com
vigil site:
Planned Parenthood of League of Massachusetts, 3550 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01107

40 DAYS FOR LIFE – WORCESTER
website: 40daysforlife.com/Worcester
contact: Pauline Morris, Campaign Director, at 508-425-3087 or pmorris43@townisp.com
or Lee Crowley, Church Coordinator, at 508-887-1064
vigil site:
Planned Parenthood, 470 Pleasant Street, Worcester, MA 01609

• Support the “Repeal the Deal” effort to place a referendum on the 2014 ballot;
• Support existing and emerging opposition groups;
• Continue to educate local decision makers and the general public.

“The gambling industry has spent millions on the distorted message that people losing money is good for the economy and good for job creation,” writes Sue Kennedy, president of USS-Mass in a recent email. “Casinos all over the country are going bankrupt, terminating employees and casino states have felt the consequences of higher unemployment and deficits. This is a critical time for Massachusetts, as casino developers begin developing plans that could change the character of our communities forever. Casinos are not inevitable.”

For more information, visit www.uss-mass.org.