The RECORD

By Mike Hein

Four Maine GOP Legislators Co-Sponsor Abortion Funding Bill

Maine Democrat Senate President Betheda G. (Beth) Edmonds (D-Cumberland County) is sponsoring LD 1309 "An Act To Provide Equity in Funding for Women's Health Services." The bill, which will have a public hearing later this spring, would allot over $283,000 in new spending to directly fund abortions for low-income Maine women. Maine currently does not directly fund abortions, but does give over $1 million annually to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, which does provide abortions in Maine. The bill is being supported by the Family Planning Association of Maine and the Maine Women's Lobby.

Senate President Edmonds, for her part, at a State House press conference recently asked, "How many more deaths will it take before we realize whatever it is we're doing is not enough?" She asked this in the context of the death of women in Maine from domestic abuse, not the death of unborn children from legal abortion. The irony was not lost on League Executive Director Michael Heath, however. Heath wryly noted that at the approximate cost of $500 per abortion, the number Edmonds was looking for was, "600(deaths), if she were referring to abortion."

While LD 1309 is being sponsored by Edmonds, the bill already has secured bi-partisan support among Maine's legislators. Four Maine Republican legislators are co-sponsoring the bill. Included as current co-sponsors of the abortion funding bill are: State Senator Peter Mills (R-Somerset County), State Rep. Abigail Holman (R-Fayette), State Rep. Roberta M. Muse (R-Fryeburg), and State Rep. Meredith N. Strang Burgess (R-Cumberland). The Maine Republican Party Platform, adopted just last year, states "We [Maine Republicans] believe in the sanctity of life and the right of parents to be involved in the reproductive decisions of their minor children."

The Christian Civic League of Maine has publicly opposed this legislation since learning about it in December, 2006. In a recent Bangor Daily News interview, League Executive Director Mike Heath reaffirmed the League's pro-life stand stating, "It's immoral for us to have abortion, period. To think that Christian, tax-paying [Maine] citizens will be forced to pay for abortions is absolutely unconscionable, it's beyond wrong." The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland (Maine) has just recently agreed with Heath and the League's position, stating they will also oppose the bill.

Former Governor of New Jersey Christie Todd Whitman was joined by State Senator and current Maine Republican gubernatorial candidate Chandler Woodcock in Augusta Saturday afternoon at a sparsely attended pro-abortion, pro-homosexual Maine Republican Party rally held at the Maine Forest Products Council headquarters. The rally was to promote Governor Whitman's new Republican pro-abortion It's My Party, Too national organization which focuses on economic and personal "freedom of choice. Maine Republican State Chairman Mark Ellis and Maine GOP Executive Director Julie O'Brien both were in attendance. Other Republican elected officials and candidates at the pro-abortion GOP rally included Senator Karl Turner of Cumberland County, Senator Peter Mills of Franklin County, and Rep. Christopher Rector of Thomaston. Republican Legislative candidates in attendance were Rachel Ellis of Augusta, Abigail Holman of Fayette, Jeffrey Gifford of Lincoln, and John Babine of Lewiston.

Strategic Partners the Republican pro-abortion, pro-homosexual It's My Party, Too include the Log Cabin Republicans homosexual organization, Planned Parenthood Republicans for Choice , the similarly named Republicans for Choice political action committee, the Republican Majority for Choice , and the pro-abortion Women in the Senate and House (WISH) List fundraising network.

SODOM'S SIN OF PRIDE

"Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it."

(Ezekiel 16:49,50)

QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

"There is not in all America a more dangerous trait than the deification of mere smartness unaccompanied by any sense of moral responsibility."

"The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life."

"When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'Present' or 'Not guilty.'"

(Theodore Roosevelt)

LEAGUE TO PROTEST GAY PRIDE PARADE

The Christian Civic League of Maine will protest the Southern Maine Gay Pride Parade in Portland this Saturday June 17, 2006. Members of the League will also videotape the parade, to provide the public with a documentary record of all that takes place. The Christian Civic League will also inform the public of the identity of any local and state official who participates in the parade.

The Christian Civic League RECORD was the only paper in Maine to inform the public that several state officials, including Senator Peter Mills and Senator Karl Turner, attended this year's Equality Maine Awards Banquet. The RECORD was also the only newspaper in Maine to publish photos of Governor John Baldacci speaking at the event.

The decision by The Christian Civic League of Maine to protest the parade is based on a deep concern over the growing power of the homosexual rights movement. Only recently, Westbrook schools adopted a change in curriculum requiring kindergarteners to be taught that same-sex marriage is normal and desirable. The driving force behind the curriculum changes is a former lesbian activist who was the chairman of the homosexual rights group Montana PRIDE.

The Christian Civic League of Maine is mindful of the current climate of intimidation in our state, which many call "The New McCarthyism." Anyone who holds a religious or moral objection to homosexuality runs the risk of being stigmatized as an "intolerant bigot." Individuals who speak out against the homosexual agenda often lose their livelihoods. Worse, gay activists have attacked, beaten, and spat upon individuals who protest their politically-correct celebrations of "diversity." It is a story that the pro-homosexual media conveniently chose to ignore.

For precisely this reason, The League will protest the Southern Maine Gay Pride parade this coming Saturday, providing a documentary record for the people of Maine, and will not hesitate to speak out against homosexual activism in the strongest possible terms.

BECOME A LEAGUE MINUTEMAN TODAY!

The Minutemen of Lexington needed bullets in their guns. The League also needs ammunition. You can give us the ammunition we need right now. We need money to pay our expenses. Just as the Minutemen were simple farmers who wanted freedom more than life itself, we are modest Christians who publish God's honest truth every single day. Using the internet we are able to make those bullets count, just like that shot heard round the world.

It is amazing to think that our email that goes out three times per week could be produced so cheaply. Because we are using the internet it costs us just $83.75 per day to produce our daily email, the RECORD! Believe it or not we know that we are reaching THOUSANDS of readers every day. New people sign up ever day! We want to get it back to being daily, Monday thru Friday. You can help us get there by becoming a minuteman today.

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THEODORE ROOSEVELT ON IMMIGRATION

You have spoken of the immigration laws. I believe not merely that all possible steps should be taken to prevent the importation of laborers under any form, but I believe further that this country ought to make a resolute effort from now on to prevent the coming in to the country of men with a standard of living so low that they tend, by entering into unfair competition with, to reduce the standard of living of our own people.

Not one of you can go farther than I will go in the effort steadily to raise the status of the American wage-worker, so long as, while doing it, I can retain a clear conscience and the certainty that I am doing what is right. I will do all in my power for the laboring man except to do what is wrong, and I will not do that for him or for anyone else.

We must not let our national sentiment for succoring the oppressed and unfortunate of other lands lead us into that warped moral and mental attitude of trying to succor them at the expense of our own people.

Laws should be enacted to keep out all immigrants who do not show that they have the right stuff to enter into our life on terms of decent equality with our own citizens. This is needed, first, in the interest of the laboring man, but furthermore in the interest of all of us as American citizens; for gentlemen, the bonds that unite all good American citizens are stronger by far than the differences, which I think you accentuate altogether too much, between the men who do one kind of labor and the men who do another.

As for immigrants, we cannot have too many of the right kind; and we should have none at all of the wrong kind (Theodore Roosevelt)

HEAD OF CONSTITUTION PARTY VISITS LEAGUE

Michael S. Heath, Executive Director of the League, met with Matt Jones, director of the Constitution Party in Maine last Thursday, to discuss current political trends in Maine, and to assess the prospects for a third party in the state.

Both Heath and Jones agreed for the most part on the issues confronting our state and nation, and shared the opinion that a third party reflecting true conservative values is vitally important to the future of Maine.

THE BROOKS OF MAINE

Here is the old, old Maine brook that you remember. It is loitering through the meadow at the foot of the pasture. It is crossed by the old log and the stepping stones. The cows have cropped its banks until they are as velvet lawn. It winds here and there through the sun-swept emerald with a thin line of shadow. And away it goes through tiny swimming holes to the boulders and the granite bed of the old post-road. And then a little farther on, it plunges into the edge of the woods and begins to be a woodland stream. It here finds its voice, and it is myriad. Trees bend over and kiss its running water. It leaps over rocks and splashes into small pools where you may lean and drink. It broadens into bowers with mossy banks...You knew every foot of it and can follow it, in your memory, by day or by night, whether you be in desert or in the town.

Not until water fell on earth could life appear. Not until the sunlight came could there be rainbows and flashing light through green boughs. Ages passed before brooks ran and clear-petaled flowers gemmed their banks…the brooks and hills of Maine are symbols of a perfecting world. They have a deeper significance than mere running waters. Like the shadows that came first as a sign of a new order of the risen sun, first breaking through the mist that enshrouded a dead world, that it might live again; so the waters are a part of the same new order and shall endure as a sign of the growth and development of God's plan. (Arthur G. Staples)

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

WEARIED BY WANDERING

"My people have been wandering sheep: their keepers have made them go out of the right way, turning them loose on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, having no memory of their resting-place."

(Jeremiah 50:6)

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Sum up at night, what you have done by day;
And in the morning what you have to do.
Dress and undress your soul; note the decay
And growth of it; and if your watch is also run down;
Wind them both up, since we shall be
Most surely judged, so make sure your accounts agree."

(George Herbert)

BREAKING THE CODE

The League received a phone call yesterday from Ron Stauble, who is considering leading a prayerful picket of The Da Vinci Code on opening night this Friday. Ron would be standing outside a theatre in Waterville on opening night. Christians interested in standing with Ron should call the League's office at (207) 622-7634 Ext. 4. Waterville will be the second city in Maine to have a prayer vigil on opening night, and hundreds of such vigils are planned nationwide. Paul Madore of the Maine Grassroots Coalition is organizing prayerful demonstrations in Lewiston. Paul Madore has emphasized the terrible effect this movie will have on young people, and those who have no knowledge of the Christian faith.

Because of the increasingly lurid, violent, and sinful "entertainment" coming out of Hollywood, the League has called on the public to boycott all movie theatres in Maine until further notice.

HOMOSEXUAL RIGHTS ORGANIZATION HOLDS
FUNDRAISER FOR GOVERNOR BALDACCI

Thanks to an event held in Portland on Mother's Day, the state's largest and most powerful homosexual rights organization has succeeded in raising money for Governor Baldacci's gubernatorial race, while managing once again to avoid coverage in the media. The same lack of publicity surrounded the Equality Maine Annual Awards Banquet in Portland in March, despite the presence of the Governor, Senator Peter Mills, Senator Ethan Strimling, Senator Karl Turner, and U.S. Senator Tom Allen, and other Maine officials.

Similarly, the media also hid the nature of the event held last Sunday, by carefully avoiding the words "homosexual" and "gay." The event was reported in the media merely as a fundraiser. The real significance of the event was its timing - Mother's Day - which allowed the Governor to give a nod and a wink to gay marriage and gay adoption, while avoiding any public discussion of the issues. In early 2005, when Representative Brian Duprey introduced legislation in favor of gay marriage -- knowing that the bill would force legislators to go on record with their support or opposition -- the Governor said through his spokesman, Lee Umphrey, that the bill was "ill-timed."

In the days leading up to the vote on the Governor's sexual-orientation bill, the Governor took the unusual step of interrupting a televised debate between Mike Heath, Executive Director of the League, and Ted O'Meara, spokesman for Equality Maine to steadfastly deny he was in favor of same-sex marriage. The Governor's position on civil unions, on the other hand, is still unclear. While a congressman, Governor Baldacci voted in favor of the ACLU position 79% of the time; and it is a virtual certainty that he is in favor of civil unions, which are simply gay marriages masquerading under another name.

One troubling aspect of the gay rights movement is the unabashed snobbishness of its leaders. The members of the liberal establishment clearly believe they know what is best for Maine, and they are not shy about letting the rest of us know it. A gay rights fundraiser and cocktail party at the home of best-selling authoress Tess Gerritsen in Camden turned out to be elitism in its purest form, as Maine's rich and powerful joined the celebrated multi-millionairess to dine on sushi, champagne, and other delicacies -- an exercise in exclusivity and snobbery that troubled even many within the gay rights movement.

FINALLY AN ALTERNATIVE TO OLYMPIA SNOWE

While he is a stranger to most Mainers, he is no stranger to Maine's most popular morning talk show audience. Edward (Ted) Libby from West Gardiner is often heard speaking out on Ray Richardson's morning talk show. Ted contacted the League this week and asked us to get the word out regarding his write-in campaign against Senator Olympia Snowe. Ted says, "It's a protest vote -- I know I'm not going to win."

Libby wants to get at least six thousand votes to send a message to the pro-abortion Republican incumbent. Snowe is not well-thought-of by Christian conservatives in Maine. She is America's most ardent supporter of the brutal practice of partial birth abortion, and is almost single-handedly responsible for keeping this barbaric and horrifying form of infanticide alive.

Libby says he will sign the No Slots for Maine petition that will ban all slot machine gambling in Maine. He describes himself as a Bible-believing Christian.

He plans to get his six thousand votes by running some radio advertisements. He invites supporters to send checks to 1105 Hallowell Road, West Gardiner, ME 04345. Edward Libby's home phone number is 1-207-724-7416

FREEPORT GROUP PROVIDES MONEY FOR
NEEDY IN SEARCH OF AN ABORTION

The Freeport-based organization Safe Abortions for Everyone (SAFE) provides lodging and funds for those in search of an abortion, but who lack the money for the procedure.

The RECORD learned of the organization while reviewing a youth-oriented publication called Maine Youth Action Network News, which is funded by the Bureau of Health and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. A section of the Maine Youth Action Network News links to a site which has news about abortion providers in Maine, and information about the Freeport organization, SAFE.