The RECORD

Maine Teacher Makes Queer Television History

Maine's most famous transgendered man, Jennifer Finney Boylan, is set to make daytime network television history this week, and the radical homosexual Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) organization praises ABC Television for making the unfamiliar [transgendered men and women] familiar.

Starring as himself in ABC's daytime soap opera, All My Children, Boylan (formerly James Boylan) and five other transgendered adults play a transgendered support group. The group coach Zoe, a young female character played by a Jeffrey Carlson. The now-female Zoe character is involved in a lesbian relationship with Bianca, another female character on the show. Boylan is the transgendered support group leader.

ABC Television reports that their All My Children soap opera will be the first daytime network television program to have a regular transgendered cast member.

The March 9 episode has already been hailed by homosexual websites including The Advocate and GLAAD as amazing and compelling. The show has previously won three GLAAD Media Awards, most recently in 2004. GLAAD's Entertainment Media Director Damon Romine said, "There will never be acceptance of [transgendering] without visibility and it's these kinds of representations of the transgender community that will ultimately make the unfamiliar familiar."

Boylan comments on his transgendering advocacy work in an interview posted on GLAAD's website. He states, "Someday, transgender characters will be as mundane as gay characters or lesbian characters or straight people, and when that day comes, I will feel extremely happy."

Boylan remains married to his wife despite having taken on a female persona in 2001 while still in his early 30s and despite having young sons. He mentions his experiences while taping the All My Children episode recently in his March 4 Kennebec Journal column There from Here. "I asked my boys and my spouse if they had any interest in coming down to the set the next day to watch me film my scenes," writes Boylan. "My son Zach wrinkled his nose."

ABC's Daytime Media Relations contact is Michael A. Cohen. He can be reached by phone at (212) 456-1429 and by email at michael.a.cohen@abc.com ABC's All My Children can be seen locally by checking their website for television station listings and times Jennifer Finney Boylan is a Professor of Creative Writing at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. His contact information is available at his website and he can be reached by email at JennyBoylan@aol.com.

Christmas Celebration with special guest Clay Crosse.

Oh Come let us adore Him!

On Sunday, December 3rd at 6:00 pm in Waterville at the Faith Evangelical Free Church, Free Indeed Ministries will host "A Christmas Celebration with Clay Crosse."

For more than 10 years, God has blessed the ministry of Clay Crosse with signature songs like "I Surrender All," "I Will Follow Christ," and numerous other #1 hits. He has steadily toured the U.S. and has brought home three Dove Awards in the process.

Along with traditional Christmas songs Clay will share some of his original Dove Award winning music. Most importantly, he will also present the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Please invite your unsaved friends to join you! Come celebrate five years of ministry with Free Indeed Ministries while celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ! Tickets are just $10. To reserve your seat, please email Free Indeed Ministries at: ashorey1@verizon.net or call us at 1- 800-763-2115.

Visit our website at http://www.freeindeedne.com

About Free Indeed Ministries

Free Indeed is a Maine-based Christian ministry which exists to proclaim hope (Is. 61:1), preserve our culture (Mt. 5:1), and to provide support (Gal. 6:1-2) to both families and churches throughout Maine and beyond.

Free Indeed Ministries
Aaron Shorey, Director
E-mail: ashorey1@verizon.net
Phone: 1-800-763-2115

REMEMBERING THE PLEASANT THINGS

"Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that were from the days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the adversary, and none did help her, the adversaries saw her, they did mock at her desolations."

(Lamentations 1:7)

QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

"No matter how many communes anybody invents, the family always creeps in."

(Margaret Mead)

"One good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters."

(George Herbert)

"I just owe almost everything to my father. The things that I learned in a small town, in a very modest home, are just the things that I believe have won the election."

(Margaret Thatcher)

PUZZLED TALK SHOW HOST ASKS "WHERE ARE THE CHRISTIANS?"

"Where are the Christians?" is the question recently asked by the nationally-syndicated radio talk show host, Bill O'Reilly, as he mused aloud on the apathy of Christians who are steadily losing ground in the Culture Wars. O'Reilly is embroiled in a minor controversy over his statements regarding a highly blasphemous cartoon which ran in a student newspaper in Oregon.

The famed conservative commentator seemed genuinely puzzled why so many Christians are indifferent in the face of increasingly virulent attacks on their religion. A secular expert O'Reilly interviewed on the subject answered that "The faith of contemporary Christians is lukewarm." Both the expert and O'Reilly agreed that the attacks reflect a deep anti-Christian sentiment that is simmering below the surface of American society.

Even as the pop-singer, Madonna, is being praised for being "crucified" on stage during her current live performances, the same news outlets are condemning Christians for their opposition to so-called "marriages" between homosexuals. The Da Vinci Code, a movie which intentionally distorts the meaning of Christianity, is breaking almost every box office record. Locally, the state's most influential newspaper has praised a store on Main Street in Augusta for displaying live lingerie models.

When blasphemy and sacrilege become a widespread fad, it is time to ponder long and hard what this new system of morality means for us all. When the most sacred principles of a society are ridiculed, there is absolutely no hope that lesser principles, such as liberty and equality, will be preserved intact. A culture which delights in mocking what is highest and noblest in man -- including the sacrifice of Christ on the cross -- is certainly a danger to Christians, and to all men and women who come in contact with it. As a rising tide of evil threatens to engulf our world, we must each ask ourselves, to what extent should we support or oppose the cultural trends of our day? Should we seek to change the culture, or simply flee it? Or better yet, are we even willing to show up for the fight?

LIBERAL REPUBLICAN CALLS NORTHERN PART
OF STATE "THE SECOND MAINE"

Peter Mills, the liberal gubernatorial candidate who has been variously called a liberal Republican, liberal fiscal conservative, a Rockefeller Republican, and an ACLU Republican delivered a gratuitous and pointless insult to the people of Maine in his online chat last night when he called the northern part of the state "The Second Maine."

How the northern part of the state ever deserves to be called "The Second Maine" is beyond comprehension. The liberal Peter Mills, who attended the Equality Maine gay rights awards banquet in Portland, has apparently drawn an imaginary line across our state, and now regards the wealthy southern half as "The First Maine." A more apt title for the southern part of the state, because of its influx of newcomers from the liberal big city, would be "The Second Massachusetts." Clearly Peter Mills is their man.

During the online chat Mills called for extending the Amtrak passenger rail line as far as Brunswick, thus providing a direct connection between the ultraliberal college town and Boston, and all points south.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

SOVIET ATTITUDES TOWARDS FAMILY LIFE
SOUND UNCOMFORTABLY FAMILIAR

The following passages taken from the writings of Marxist ideologues sound uncomfortably similar to the attitudes being promoted by liberals today. Their attitudes towards divorce and abortion are exactly the same as those of the average liberal Democrat or Republican. Read on to see if you agree that the attitudes of the American people have been subtly changed without their knowledge.

The Freedom of Divorce

"Reactionaries are against the freedom of divorce. They are calling for cautious treatment of such a freedom and are shouting that it means the breakup of the family. But democracy considers that the reactionaries are hypocritical and are defending the power of the bureaucracy and the police, the privilege of one sex, and the worst kind of oppression against women, that in fact, freedom of divorce does not mean dissolution of family relations, but on the contrary, their strengthening on democratic grounds, the only possible and stable grounds in a civilized society.

It is impossible to be a democrat and a socialist without immediately demanding complete freedom of divorce, because the absence of such freedom is the utmost oppression of the subdued sex, woman -- although it does not take brains to gather that the recognition of freedom to leave one's husband is not an invitation for all wives to leave their husbands."

(Vladimir Lenin)

Soviet divorce laws were extremely permissive. The state acknowledged the marriage as dissolved when either the husband or wife requested the divorce for any reason. The divorce could not be contested by the other party. In the absence of one party, the other party was notified of the divorce by mail.

The Soviet government legalized abortion on demand in 1920, the first nation to do so. Laws against various sex crimes, such as bigamy, adultery, and incest were abolished. The Soviet government was also the first nation to promote the widespread availability of contraceptives. The obvious goal of the Soviet government was to destroy the family.

Here is another quote by a Marxist ideologue, on the need for the destruction of the family.

The Destruction of the Family

"Until Socialism is achieved the individual family is inescapable. We undoubtedly are approaching public upbringing of the children, free labor schools, the widest social security at the expense of the State. If at present we maintain the duty of mutual support within the family, we do it because the State cannot yet, for the time being, replace the family.*

The family creating a series of rights and duties between the spouses, the parents and children, will certainly disappear in the course of time, and will be replaced by the governmental organizations of public education and social security."

(Friedrich Engels)

Note that the family is to be replaced by public education, including training in sex education and the use of contraceptives, as is currently being done in Maine schools.

*The Family in Social Context, by Gerald R. Leslie, Oxford University Press, 1967

THERE IS NO DENYING THE TRUTH

"For we overthrow arrogant 'reckonings,' and every stronghold that towers high in defiance of the knowledge of God, and we carry off every thought as if into slavery--into subjection to Christ"

(2 Corinthians 10:5)

QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

"Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause."

(Victor Hugo)

"Some talkers excel in the precision with which they formulate their thoughts, so that you get from them somewhat to remember; others lay criticism asleep by a charm. Especially women use words that are not words,--as steps in a dance are not steps,--but reproduce the genius of that they speak of; as the sound of some bells makes us think of the bell merely, whilst the church chimes in the distance bring the church and its serious memories before us."

(Emerson)

"Nothing is as frustrating as arguing with someone who knows what he's talking about."

(Sam Ewing)

"The difficult part in an argument is not to defend one's opinion, but rather to know it."

(Andre Maurois)


FAIRCLOTH - RANKIN DEBATE ON "GAY RIGHTS"
REVEALS DEEP DIVIDE BETWEEN LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES

True to our prediction, the debate between State Representative Sean Faircloth and Harvard-trained theologian John Rankin yielded new insights into the debate over gay rights. The debate drew a fair-sized crowd, made up of conservatives, both Protestant and Catholic. One could not imagine a more conservative setting than the medieval-looking hall, each wall having a crucifix, and a mural of Columbus setting foot in the New World in the back. No supporters of gay rights were anywhere to be seen, with the lone exception of Representative Faircloth, who appeared absolutely confident and self-possessed as the debate got underway. Faircloth looked every part the legislator, with the exception of his Picasso-esque tie and his unpolished shoes, which at least testify to his lack of pretension.

His opponent was the scholarly John Rankin, whose spectacles and beard, combined with his reserved and deliberate manner, made him look every inch the college professor. Not as self-possessed or as confident, Rankin appeared lost in thought in the minutes before the debate. As the debate began, it quickly became clear, that although Rankin had a better understanding of the issues, both sides were an even match.

Faircloth as a lawyer and legislator knows how to capture the attention of an audience, so although his comments lacked substance, he was able to hold his own. With an average crowd, he would have prevailed over his opponent. But those who turned out for the debate were no average crowd. Many were activists who have been opposing the homosexual agenda; and most had come to the debate armed with answers to Faircloth's claims.

From the very start, the debate turned out to be an important lesson in the different way liberals and conservatives approach an issue. In his opening statement, Faircloth sought to disarm the conservative side by invoking the authority of the Founding Fathers in support of the gay rights movement. After listing the sacred cows of the Left -- John F. Kennedy, Mahatma Gandhi, Robert Kennedy, Jr. -- Faircloth went on to debunk the assertion that many of the Founding Fathers were actually Christian. Washington, Faircloth claimed, was not a churchgoer; Benjamin Franklin was a womanizer, and Thomas Jefferson fathered a child out of wedlock. Were the Founding Fathers alive today, Faircloth said, they would support gay rights.

Rankin, on the other hand, went to the heart of the issue in his opening statement, by explaining the difference between divinely-ordained inalienable rights, and rights based on popular opinion, which of course, is the liberal view. Rankin clearly pointed out that rights determined by popular opinion eventually become a matter of "might makes right." Faircloth's response to Rankin's explanation of the meaning of rights was to launch into a minor diatribe against Christianity, quoting a passage by Thomas Jefferson that Christianity had been responsible for the deaths of millions upon millions of people throughout history. A member of the audience later pointed out that the alleged passage by Jefferson is an obvious forgery.

Despite Rankin's brilliant explanation of how all rights and human progress are derived from the Bible, Faircloth insisted on repeating his accusation that religion, and in particular Christianity, has been a force for evil. Man's knowledge of rights is always evolving, Faircloth claimed.

Both sides were at loggerheads from the beginning, with absolutely no common ground. Faircloth's opening statement was so heavy-handed and irrelevant to the discussion at hand, that it provoked laughter from the audience. During the debate, the audience was incredulous at how far out of touch Faircloth was on the most basic matters. His flat denial that there are no unfavorable medical consequences from homosexual acts between males met with expressions of disbelief, for example.

And in the question and answer session which followed the debate, the audience was quick to point out the obvious inconsistencies in Faircloth's arguments. Two members of the audience pointed out that Washington was in fact a regular churchgoer and a deacon in two churches over his lifetime. Another member of the audience pointed out more errors in Faircloth's opening statement, but Faircloth was unmoved, and insisted that his sources were correct.

To an impartial observer it was embarrassingly clear, that not only was Representative Faircloth wrong on many matters of fact, but his entire argument was an unimaginative rehash of liberal commentary dredged up from the New York Times or the Boston Globe. Faircloth's performance was unoriginal and uninspiring, an appeal to warm, fuzzy thinking, in the best liberal tradition. Faircloth was worth seeing, not for the depth and substance of his ideas, but only as another amusing reminder of how out of touch with reality many of our leaders really are.

LETTER ANNOUNCES BOYCOTT OF THE DA VINCI CODE

The following is a letter announcing the intention of the Maine Grassroots Coalition to boycott The Da Vinci Code. The letter was delivered by Paul Madore, Executive Director of the Maine Grassroots Coalition to a theater manager in Lewiston last Thursday.

To whom it may concern:

A personal letter and formal request to the Manager and Owner of ___ Theaters.

Please cease and desist from showing the upcoming file, The Da Vinci Code.

The purpose of this request is to cease blaspheming our Lord Jesus Christ and to prevent from offending the Christian community and other people of good will.

Furthermore, we the undersigned, Leaders and Members of the Catholic and Evangelical Christian Community are hereby on record that we are respectfully and formerly requesting that ______ Theaters and their Manager and those assigned to scheduling and facilitating the viewing of said films, cease and desist from advertising and/or promoting The Da Vinci Code with the express intent of showing Dan Brown's movie The Da Vinci Code.

The director Ron Howard has promised he is being faithful to the bestselling novel as he adapts it to the big screen. That means the movie will likely be blasphemous, just as the book is. The book is a novel, but in telling its story, it makes massive claims about Jesus Christ--that He was not divine, that He was secretly married, and the New Testament is false propaganda; and that the interpretation Brown uses "History is written by the winners" suggests that the whole history of Christianity, beginning with Jesus himself, is a lie.

In the words of Roman Catholic Archbishop Angelo Amato, second in command in the Vatican Doctrinal Office, formerly headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, "We called on all Catholics and people of good faith to boycott The Da Vinci Code film. This film is full of calumnies and theological errors regarding Jesus, the Gospels and the Church, and is stridently Anti-Christian."

We also recognize that while the movie may give Christians a good opportunity to talk about faith issues, millions of people, not familiar in the least with the Gospels and Sacred Scripture--could be spiritually poisoned with false propaganda against Christ. We also realize that Brown's book has become largely famous due to the extreme cultural poverty on the part of a good number of Christian faithful. This is especially true of children. Every movie ticket purchased is a VOTE, saying "Yes, Hollywood, make more movies like this!"

Therefore, we will encourage other likeminded Christians to avoid participating in seeing this film, and will avail ourselves of every legal opportunity to express our moral outrage to the entire Christian community. We choose not to support the blasphemy. While recognizing that this is an issue of conscience and people of good will may differ on how to approach the film, this is how we choose to act. And we ask Christian and all people of good will to consider joining us in this expression of moral outrage.

TEENPACT IN NEED OF A FIFTEEN PASSENGER VAN OR SMALL SHUTTLE

Justin Horsman, state director for the Christian homeschoolers program called TeenPact, is in need of a reliable, fifteen passenger van, or a small shuttle to take a group of homeschoolers to the National TeenPact Convention in Atlanta, May 25 and June 3.

TeenPact is a national program headquartered in Atlanta that teaches homeschoolers firsthand about many different aspects of their local and state government. If you can help out by lending a van for this valuable work for Christ and the future of America, please call Justin Horsman at 207-240-6368, or e-mail Justin at jhorsman@gmail.com.

NO TOLERANCE FOR SLANDER

"I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.

I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.

Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look, and a proud heart will not I suffer.

Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.

He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight."

(Psalm 101:1-7)

QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

[The power of movies to reach the soul:] "It is music and a dream. No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight of the soul."

(Ingrid Bergman)

[Movies as indoctrination:] "A movie audience needs a very receptive state of mind...not unlike a sheet of film itself -- seemingly inert, yet so sensitive that a fraction of a second's exposure conceives a life in it."

(Minor White)

[Movies as a religious experience:] "When you come into the theater, you have to be willing to say, 'We're all here to undergo a communion, to find out what is going on in this world.' If you're not willing to say that, what you get is entertainment instead of art, and poor entertainment at that."

(David Mamet)


BOYCOTT OF THE DA VINCI CODE GATHERING STEAM
CONSERVATIVE GROUP WILL BOYCOTT THE MOVIE AT ONE-THOUSAND THEATERS NATIONWIDE

Following Mike Heath's call for a boycott of the soon-to-be-released The Da Vinci Code, The League has come in for some very harsh criticism from both the liberal media and those among the public who are sympathetic to the ideas contained in Dan Brown's bestseller. The reaction from some members of the public has been almost as strong as the League received during the last weeks of the referendum on the gay rights vote. Particularly noteworthy is the hate-filled e-mails and crank calls which The RECORD and Mike Heath have received for daring to challenge a movie which now amounts to a major cultural phenomenon.

As of yet, the liberal media seem to be at a loss for just the right approach to undermine The League's call for a boycott. A column in last week's Kennebec Journal claimed that although economic boycotts are often justified, the League's planned boycott was an overreaction. Others in the media claim that the action of the League violates the right to free speech enjoyed by the movie-going public. Yet other commentators are claiming that the movie offers an opportunity for a reexamination of Christianity; and that is the most dangerous and insidious assertion of all, since the book on which the movie is based is a complete distortion of the meaning of Christianity. In addition to misrepresenting Christianity and slandering the person of Jesus Christ, the book shows a bigoted intolerance of Catholics which is tantamount to hate speech.

Catholic officials have denounced the movie in the strongest possible terms, and have also called for a boycott. One conservative group is planning to conduct prayer vigils at over one thousand theatres on opening night.

Sony Pictures has already hired public relations experts to deal with the rising tide of public opposition to the movie, and is anxious to promote a dialog with Christians about the movie, which will ensure that revenues from ticket sales will not be harmed by a boycott. Although it is crucially important for believers to use the movie as an occasion to witness to the lost, a boycott will ensure that Hollywood will have second thoughts about making another such misleading movie.

Last week, Paul Madore, Executive Director of the Maine Grassroots Coalition, led a group of Evangelicals and Catholics to a theatre in Lewiston, where they met with the manager of the theater to express the public's indignation over the movie. Following the meeting, Madore sent around the following bulletin to his supporters:
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Da Vinci Code Bulletin

We are starting to make some progress on The Da Vinci Code front.

On Thursday Evening, five men including myself, mostly individuals from area Catholic and Evangelical Churches, entered the theater and requested to see the management. We exchanged a few pleasantries and quickly got down to business and requested to the manager that they not show The Da Vinci Code film here in the Lewiston, Auburn community.

We told the manager and staff that the movie was worse than rotten food, and stated firmly that this movie was pure blasphemy. It was short and sweet. We didn't want the movie to be shown. Period! Several who came to protest took an opportunity to speak and express their dismay about Dan Brown and his fictitious film.

When we were finished giving him a litany of complaints about The Da Vinci Code, we handed the Manager a formal complaint in writing stating the reasons for our radical request. I cautioned him to be sure to read the details of our letter. In the letter I stated " we will take every legal means necessary, short of breaking the law, to make our moral outrage known throughout the community." I knew that this would get his attention.

It's only a matter of time before the manager speaks to his boss, probably somewhere in Boston.

Now we are learning that other Christian communities are starting to do the same, all over the country. We are beginning to be heard and the movie industry is starting to take notice. They are getting nervous and are beginning to take the necessary measures to deal with the negative P/R that is starting to come their way.

We have only just begun to fight! We must not quit now.

I need (6) six more good men to go back to the theater and make the same request once again. Yes, that is correct.

We must continue asking the theater to abandon their plans to show the movie. If I could find twenty more men, I would return to the theater a half dozen times. If you would like to help, please call me at my office at 784-0846

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The following is a letter Paul Madore received on the same day as the protest.

Dear Mr. Madore,

Thank you for all your hard work. So many faithful Catholics are mobilizing against The Da Vinci Code blasphemy that we might have well over 1,000 protest prayer vigils on opening night!

Hollywood is worried. They fear the word blasphemy. According to reports, they want to avoid the B-word or appear insensitive to Catholics. Sony is going out of its way to hire crisis specialists and reputation managers. They don't want protests. Blasphemy is bad business.

Warning:

In some circles, protest is being discouraged. A number of people are promoting what they call "othercott." In other words, they plan to go see another Hollywood movie while the offensive Da Vinci Code shows. A pro-othercott blogger even said, "Let's buy some popcorn, too."

I'm sure you'll agree with me that "othercottsâ" will only serve to:

Reward Hollywood for blasphemy, filling their pockets with more revenue;

Reward theaters for sponsoring blasphemy, filling their pockets too;

Trivialize the grave sin of blasphemy;

Weaken the notion of good and evil, and perhaps;

Encourage other blasphemous films to develop

Let us recall the counsel of Our Lord: "Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak." [Matthew 26:41]

When Our Lord is being mocked, insulted, blasphemed, spat upon and figuratively crucified anew by The Da Vinci Code, is it admissible to relax in a comfortable theater chair, with popcorn and soda, and enjoy another movie of questionable moral decency?

No. Faithful Catholics must act differently¦ Your efforts are in my prayers.

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Clearly, although movies have become progressively worse in every respect over the past few decades, with the arrival of The Da Vinci Code, the public has reached a breaking point. Although the public has learned to accept movies which are devoid of any moral or artistic worth, a movie which gratuitously slanders Jesus Christ, the greatest figure in human history, is simply intolerable.

The RECORD sincerely hopes that the release of The Da Vinci Code will provide the occasion for the movie-going public to take a serious look at the moral nihilism, and the delight in sin and human suffering which underlie so many of the movies made in Hollywood today.