UPDATE: after Donna Garner sent the message below, she did some more research on Wal-Mart’s “Gay & Lesbian” books section of its website and found that the corporation had not changed as much as she thought. Here is her subsequent ‘Correction’:

TAKE ACTION: Contact Wal-Mart by phone at 1-800-WALMART or through their online feedback page; thank them for moving in a pro-family direction but ask them to stop marketing offensive books that promote homosexual behavior, especially to youth. There are plenty of places to get these books: a “pro-family” corporation need not aggressively pursue this market.

Donna Garner writes: Now I am really sorry that I gave Wal-Mart a “pass” on their online offerings.  Last night when I was searching, I typed in the words “homosexuality” and “homosexuals” into the Wal-Mart search box. This is the same way that I had searched last summer and found so very many. 
 
This morning someone who is far wiser than I am has written me back and said these horrible teen homosexual books are still online at Wal-Mart [examples: The Best Gay Love Stories 2005, It's in Her Kiss (see cover above), Queer Cowboys, Best Lesbian Love Stories 2005, etc.] and can be located by going through the following or by typing in the word “gay” into the search engine.  I should have thought to do that.  Please forgive my ignorance.

We still need to hold Wal-Mart responsible, and I will send my letters to the Wal-Mart executives as soon as I have time to get them written.
 
Here is what the wiser person wrote to me this morning: 
 
“In the Search box, choose Books from the drop down menu, but don’t type a search term in the menu.  Then click Find.  When it brings up a new screen, look on the lefthand side under SHOP BOOKS.  You will see in the list Gay & Lesbian.  Click on that.  In the next screen, it says Featured Categories.  Right under that is a section Gay & Lesbian Fiction, with a photo of a book Walk Like A Man.  Just below that book, just below the Add To Cart button, it says See all fiction.  Click on the word fiction.  It will take you to the Gay and Lesbian Fiction listings.”

__________________________

Donna Warner’s original message: Super-activists like Donna Garner and pro-family organizations like American Family Association — which led the charge against Wal-mart’s pro-homosexual drift — had a lot to do with this hopeful marketing shift. — Peter LaBarbera

TAKE ACTION: Contact Wal-Mart by phone at 1-800-WALMART or by through their online feedback page, and thank them for moving in a pro-family direction. 

By Donna Garner

Not only has Wal-Mart actually stopped funding Planned Parenthood and has been taken off the Life Decisions International Boycott List, but I believe the Wal-Mart online bookstore has been cleaned up also.
 
I went to the Wal-Mart online bookstore and typed in “homosexuality.”  Earlier this summer when I typed in that word, there were some 500+ books on the subject.  Now there are only 99 [there are actually over 400--Ed.].  I scrolled through all 99, and most of them are either about homosexuality and Christianity or homosexuality in history, art, foreign countries, etc. I wish many of them were not being sold by Wal-Mart, but I have to say that the really horrible homosexual novels and perverted books which teens might be lured into reading are no longer on the list [see note above on that]. 
 
Praise God!  I really do believe Wal-Mart has had a change of heart. The boycott did get their attention, and the Lord has answered our prayers. 
 
Thanks to all of you who joined in the boycott of Wal-Mart.  It took all of us working together to make a difference. God’s people are a mighty army!
 
Donna Garner
wgarner1@hot.rr.com

I typed in the words “gay and lesbians.”  In the top, lefthand corner, it states, “576 items found for ‘gays and lesbians.’ “   Wal-Mart still has some cleaning up to do before it can say it is not supporting the gay and lesbian agenda. 
 
To read more about how to approach Wal-Mart with your concerns, please read Erin Roach’s 1.22.07 article in the Baptist Press (http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=24812). 
 
While Wal-Mart appears to be removing its support of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender organizations, we need to ask Wal-Mart to remove these harmful books from its online bookstore because they could easily get into the hands of impressionable teens.  
 
Donna Garner
wgarner1@hot.rr.com

Tony Perkins of Family Research Council wrote Monday (June 25):

Liberal Partnerships No Longer in Store for Wal-Mart

 

For Wal-Mart executives, the most pressing issue hasn’t been price wars but the broader culture war. A year after the company’s failed experiment of endorsing pro-homosexual groups, the retail giant announced that it will no longer donate to “gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) organizations.” The news is a significant victory for many in the pro-family movement who took part in a grassroots campaign to oppose Wal-Mart’s liberal partnerships. In 2006, the company known for its Christian roots did a radical about-face, joining the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, sponsoring the “Out & Equal” convention, and selling homosexual-themed products in its retail stores. Wal-Mart’s liberal transformation angered many in its customer base and prompted several groups to boycott the chain altogether. FRC distributed thousands of educational fliers warning customers that Wal-Mart was rolling back family values. In the end, the broad backlash forced the company to revoke its political agenda. Hopefully, this latest decision will signal other companies to rethink their liberal leanings. Many have tested the political waters and found that embracing the Left’s agenda often means sacrificing profits and consumer confidence–a price more retailers are unwilling to pay. For the latest on the homosexual agenda, log on to http://www.frc.org/ to read an op-ed today by FRC’s Vice President for Policy, Peter Sprigg, which appeared in USA Today.

From the Out & Equal website:

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates is proud to display our ever-increasing list of corporations who support LGBT workplace equality by encouraging and fostering their own employee resource groups (ERGs). With such valuable workplace groups in place, employees in one ERG can turn to leaders in other groups to share resources and establish good workplace practices for LGBT employees. LGBT employees trust their employers are keeping their interests in mind when making key business decisions that affect all employees…

True Out & Equal Workplace Leaders

TAKE ACTION – Pass this article forward to the executives at your company and contact your elected officials in Washington, D.C. (Congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121) to express opposition to the “ENDA Our Freedom” Bill. (ENDA is the pro-homosexual, pro-”transgender” Employment Non-Discrimination Act.) Also, call President Bush at 202-456-1111 or 456-1414 and ask him to veto any and all pro-homosexual bills that emerge from the Democrat-led Congress.

AN Americans For Truth EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL REPORT

Amy Andre, program manager for Out & Equal, presented a workshop at the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force’s Creating Change conference, November 8-12, 2006, in Kansas City, Missouri, entitled 15 Steps to an Out & Equal Workplace. (AFTAH’s reporters went undercover at the conference because the Task Force ejects critical observers at its events.)

One key initiative revealed by Andre: the promotion of a “spousal equivalency policy” that would require employers to pay homosexuals a higher salary than married heterosexuals.

These are the steps that homosexual activists are recommending for American corporations (our comments are in bold and italics):

(1) Support and attend the annual Out & Equal “Workplace Summit”

(2) Start an “employee resource group” – This employee group will be used to pressure the company to complete the remaining steps.

(3) Offer domestic partner benefits – O&E supports domestic partner benefits for cohabitating heterosexuals as well as homosexual partners.

(4) Include “sexual orientation” in your company’s EEO policy – Such a policy would prevent the company from “discriminating against” homosexuals or bisexuals.

(5) Include “gender identity and expression” in your company’s EEO policy – This policy would prevent an employer from “discriminating against” a transvestite (cross-dresser) or transsexual (who might be considering a “sex change” operation or might be partially or completely “transitioned”), even if this situation creates a problem with clients. (For example, these policies have been used to ensure that a teacher who cross-dresses or proceeds with a “sex-change” operation cannot be fired. Instead, children are expected to understand and cope with this outrageous situation.)

(6) Include LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] workplace diversity training – “Knowing someone who is LGBT changes attitudes” so O&E recommends having the trainer or another employee “come out” during the session — a manipulative tactic.

(7) Support the LGBT community through corporate giving – Although homosexual activists generally express disdain for corporate America, executives are urged to contribute money to promote the normalization of homosexuality.

(8) Recruit and develop LGBT employees

(9) Market to the LGBT community

(10) Create LGBT-specific advertising

(11) Provide LGBT leadership development opportunities

(12) Develop spousal equivalent policies for LGBT employees – See below — this one is very important.

(13) Include LGBT-owned businesses in your supplier diversity program – O&E recommends the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce’s certification program. This policy results in business moving from family-oriented companies to pro-homosexual companies. (Case in point: Wal-Mart.)

(14) Promote an LGBT-friendly corporate culture

(15) Share best practices around LGBT workplace issues

Out & Equal convinces companies that homosexuals comprise both a vital source of talent and a uniquely attractive target market segment. Using data from Witeck-Combs, a pro-homosexual firm, O&E suggests that homosexuals comprise 6 to 7 percent of the population. (Their number far exceeds more scientific estimates that put the figure at 1-3 percent.)

Using their inflated numbers, O&E says the 14 to 16 million homosexuals will spend about $640 billion in 2006. They report that homosexuals are twice as likely to be professionals or managers, are early adopters of new technologies, are brand loyal, and have a higher discretionary income. That enticement, along with a little “social justice” guilt, deceives companies into implementing O&E recommended policies.

First, a corporation would incur additional expense to fund “domestic partner” benefits. Most corporations contribute a substantial portion toward the cost of an employee’s personal health care and some toward the cost of coverage for an employee plus spouse or employee plus spouse/children. O&E recommends that an employer make that same contribution for those who are not married — for instance, a live-in boyfriend/girlfriend or a homosexual partner.

Homosexual “Spousal Supremacy”?
Next, Out & Equal’s “spousal equivalency policy” would require the employer to compensate the homosexual employee for the absence of tax exemption on homosexual partner and children health insurance costs. An employee normally makes a contribution, deducted from his paycheck, toward the cost of his health care coverage. For a married man, that expense is paid with pre-tax or tax-exempt dollars. Because there is no federal recognition of “gay marriage,” although a homosexual may receive domestic partner benefits, his contribution is paid with taxable dollars.

In the example Ms. Andre used (and she did note that the figures would vary according to each unique circumstance), she estimated that the employer would need to pay a homosexual employee with a partner $3787.20/year extra to compensate for the different tax status; that figure would soar to $7006.32/year for a homosexual with a partner and children. The net effect of this concept would be to pay a homosexual with a “partner” thousands of dollars more than a married heterosexual.

And add to that the cost of employee time spent networking, calling or e-mailing, meeting to focus on their “victim” status, lobbying HR/management, etc.

Executives would do well to examine Eastman Kodak, Ford, and Wal-Mart as case studies and to note the negative effect of capitulating to GLBT demands — on corporate revenue, volume, and stock price.

Or they could simply heed the words of one (white, female) activist in a separate Task Force Creating Change session, who expressed disdain for American corporations and said:

“…I am happy to take the white man’s money
and use it to subvert [everything he stands for].”

Out & Equal’s 2007 Workplace Summit will be held September 27-29 at the Hilton in Washington, D.C. Human Resource executives would do well to take their calculators along.

The pro-family movement must re-engage in the corporate arena, or there is no hope of recovering moral sanity in the larger culture. To start with we can demand strict neutrality in corporate “diversity” and giving programs, and an end to one-sided tolerance seminars that are in reality training sessions in “gay” ideology. — Peter LaBarbera

Excerpted from Queer Inc, by Marc Gunther, published Nov 30, 2006, by Fortune:

…A platoon of Raytheon employees wearing identical blue-and-black bowling shirts, pins with the company’s logo and black pants proudly walked the halls of this fall’s convention of Out & Equal, an organization that brings together the networks of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people – GLBT, in the argot of the moment – that have taken root at America’s big companies.

For three days in Chicago, with about 1,700 delegates from other companies, the 67 members of Raytheon’s GLBT network could attend workshops with such titles as The Cost of Transgender Health Benefits, Breaking Through the Lavender Ceiling and Male-on-Male Sexual Harassment: An Emerging Issue…

When Justin Nelson was trying to get the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce off the ground in 2003, IBM offered its support. “If they hadn’t joined, there wouldn’t be a chamber,” Nelson says. Big Blue was followed by Wells Fargo, Motorola, Intel, American Express and recently, Wal-Mart…

Some companies are grappling with how to manage employees switching from one sex to another. American Airlines and its HR people helped a 58-year-old pilot – an ex-Marine and Vietnam combat veteran – go from being Robert to Bobbi. Energy giant Chevron published “Transgender@Chevron,” an eight-page guide to the issues that come up when a worker changes gender identity, ranging from the bureaucratic (don’t forget to get a new security badge) to the everyday (when it’s appropriate to move from the men’s room to the ladies’ room or vice versa)…

This is how workplace changes typically happen at big companies – from the inside out. Gay and lesbian employees come out of the closet. They find one another. They organize. They enlist straight allies. And they take their concerns to top managers.

These gay networks customarily meet in company facilities, use the company intranet, and receive financial support…

• Among corporations, IBM is the No. 1 financial supporter of gay rights groups in the U.S.
• To export its gay-friendly culture, IBM supports employee GLBT groups in 23 countries, including Singapore, Slovakia and Colombia. There’s plenty to do: In 80 countries homosexual acts are illegal, as they were in parts of the U.S. until a few years ago.
• Last year IBM convened a group of gay college students at the Human Rights Campaign to form a national organization of students in science and technology.
• IBM persuaded Dr. Marci Bowers, one of the world’s leading sex-reassignment surgeons and herself a transgendered person, to participate in the company’s health insurance program.

…the truth is that for the past 15 years, boycotts or no boycotts, corporate America has been moving in only one direction, and at a pretty rapid pace.

Do you recall that the restaurant chain Cracker Barrel fired gay workers back in 1991 for not having “normal heterosexual values”? Well, a few years ago, when a Kodak employee sent an e-mail to co-workers objecting to the company’s endorsement of National Coming Out day as “disgusting and offensive,” he was the one who was fired when he declined to apologize. He was entitled to his beliefs, the company explained, but his behavior was not aligned with Kodak’s values.

So it’s clear where big business is going. What’s interesting is to watch it pull the rest of the country along. It turns out that the most important factor shaping people’s feelings about gay issues is not their age or even their religion – although those do matter – but whether they have relatives, friends or co-workers who are gay.

Continue reading at CNN…

Dear Mr. Scott,

My husband and I have been very committed to boycotting Wal-Mart because of its support of the homosexual agenda; but now that you have decided not “to support or oppose controversial issues,” we can happily go back to our wonderful Hewitt Wal-Mart and shop TODAY! We are excited because it has been a great sacrifice for us financially and time-wise to have to drive a long distance to go to other stores.

You have done the wise thing in making the decision to stop perpetuating the harmful and unhealthy homosexual lifestyle. We feel assured that you will live up to your commitment to American Family Association. If for some reason in the future you should decide to support the homosexual agenda once again, you can be assured that we will redouble our efforts to boycott Wal-Mart with even more commitment.

Thank you for listening to the traditional families of America who love our country and want to see it filled with healthy and whole families.

Sincerely,

Donna and Wayne Garner
Hewitt, TX

This letter is in regard to your Nov. 17, 2006, article , “Wal-Mart faces anti-gay boycott“, published in Washington Blade, Southern Voice, SoVo.com, and Houston Voice.

ITEM ONE

You wrote:

“Working with conservative groups Americans for Truth and the American Family Association, Benham is planning a nationwide boycott and demonstration against Wal-Mart during the Thanksgiving weekend shopping free-for-all.”

There are two problems with that sentence.

First, according to the Americans for Truth post: “AFA is calling for a boycott of Wal-Mart on the Friday following Thanksgiving, which is typically the biggest shopping day of the year.”

Americans for Truth has not formally called for a boycott of Wal-Mart. Americans for Truth simply reported that American Family Association had called for a one-day boycott.

Second, Flip Benham has not engaged in any conversation with anyone from Americans for Truth on any subject . In fact, I cannot recall having ever met or spoken with Flip Benham, so I was surprised to read that Benham is “working with…Americans for Truth.”

ITEM TWO

You wrote:

“By working with the NGLCC [National Lesbian & Gay Chamber of Commerce] and other gay groups, Wal-Mart is giving a ’show of support to help homosexuals legalize same sex marriage,’ according to the Americans for Truth website.”

The Americans for Truth post clearly cites American Family Association as the author of that sentence — and you should have, too.

ITEM THREE

You wrote:

“The site claims that Wal-Mart is forwarding 5 percent of the value of online sales from walmart.com to the Washington D.C. Center for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender People.

“David Tovar, director of communications for Wal-Mart, disputed that claim. He noted that the gay center receives only a percentage of sales from people who click on walmart.com from a link on the gay center’s website — not all online sales.”

There are two problems with that statement.

First, the Americans for Truth website post clearly notes that the percentage is only on sales via the DC Center’s website:

Title of AFT post: “Wal-Mart Contributes 5% Of Online Sales Via D.C. Homosexual Community Center Website”

Text from AFA: “The cash donation will come from all online purchases made at Wal-Mart through the homosexual group’s web site.”

Americans for Truth did not state/did not imply that DC Center was getting a percentage of ALL online sales.

Second, although Mr. Tovar of Wal-Mart seems to dispute the 5% figure (of online sales deriving from the Center’s website), the DC Center’s own website, which is linked in the Americans for Truth post, confirms that number:

“The percentage of each sale donated to the Center is indicated next to each store… Wal-Mart [5%]”

We would appreciate a public correction on these points. And next time, please call to verify the facts first.

Sincerely,
Peter LaBarbera
President, Americans for Truth

Excerpted from Wal-Mart Drops Gay Sex How-To Manual for Teens after LifeSiteNews.com Expose, by John-Henry Westen, published Nov 15, 2006 by LifeSiteNews:

…A Wal-Mart advertisement for the book was listed on the Wal-Mart website, but the web page which listed the information now says: “Product Not Found!”

LifeSiteNews.com contacted Wal-Mart spokesman Kory Lundberg for comment on the book’s removal, but no comment has yet been received.

Continue reading at LifeSite News…

Wal-Mart is a $60,000 plenary sponsor of September’s [2006] Out & Equal summit in Chicago. The company signed on to support the workplace advocacy group just two years after Ken Pearson, a Wal-Mart executive [and chairman of PRIDE, a group for Wal-Mart's homosexual employees], attended his first summit and reported his findings to Bentonville.

Those close to the company and this sponsorship say it is not just a façade and reflects a growing commitment by Wal-Mart to ‘do the right thing.’

“I think the company, with it’s mission and focus on diversity, really wanted to make an impact, knowing that the support would be well-received within the LGBT community,” Pearson said. Wal-Mart “has been making great strides in moving the needle in LGBT workplace equality.”

Out & Equal executive director Selisse Berry sold Wal-Mart executives on Out & Equal in two days of meetings on LGBT issues in Bentonville last December.

“What struck me about that was that the culture at Wal-Mart is changing,” Berry said. “They were eager to learn and kind of catch up.”

Click HERE to view Wal-Mart endorsement ad for Out and Equal homosexual rights conference.

From the Out & Equal website:

Out & Equal™ Workplace Advocates is the pre-eminent national organization devoted to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in the workplace.

Our mission is to educate and empower organizations, human resource professionals, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and individual employees through programs and services that result in equal policies, opportunities, practices and benefits in the workplace regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, expressions or characteristics.

Click HERE to hear what Amy Andre of Out & Equal presented at the 2006 National Gay & Lesbian Task Force’s Creating Change conference last weekend.

From Wal-Mart Hits Teens with Gay Porn How-To Manual, by Gudrun Schultz, published Nov 15, 2006, by LifeSite News:

A graphic sex-ed manual promoting lesbianism to teenage girls is now offered for sale by Wal-Mart in the United States. Called “irresponsible and obscene” and by the Institute for Canadian Values, the material contains explicit directions for engaging in oral/anal sexual acts. The book encourages same-sex experimentation, telling girls that only 10 percent of the population is actually heterosexual, while 80 percent is “mixed” or bi-sexual.

Produced by St. Stephens’ Community House in Toronto, the book titled “The Little Black Book for Girlz: A Book on Healthy Sexuality” caused a storm of controversy earlier this fall when parents and pro-family groups first became aware of the books’ content after it was published in September.

The manual was further condemned for using obscene and derogatory language. Examples include a section entitled “My First Time F***ing a Girl” and the statement “If you need someone to represent God The Holiness, then for me, it’s a fat black dyke.”

The manual contains misleading and dangerous information on “safe” sex devises, assuring teenagers that condom use is 100 percent effective in preventing the transmission of disease. That statement contradicts the World Health Organization’s recent admission that condom use fails to protect against HIV/AIDS transmission up to 20 percent of the time, crucial information missing from the manual.

Another section on “safe” lesbian sex acts, entitled “How to use a dental dam,” encourages girls to engage in such dangerous behaviour as sewing latex squares used in dentistry into the crotch of their underwear “for added fun.”

Wal-Mart says the book, sold for $8.50, is “a great mix of real-life examples and life-saving info.”

Continue reading at LifeSite News…

In a show of support to help homosexuals legalize same-sex “marriage,” Wal-Mart has agreed to automatically donate 5% of online sales directly to the Washington DC Community Center for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People. The cash donation will come from all online purchases made at Wal-Mart through the homosexual group’s web site. This move follows Wal-Mart’s joining the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and agreeing to give generous financial help to that group.

AFA says that Wal-Mart also gave a generous cash donation to the Northwest Arkansas GLBT Community Center.

AFA is calling for a boycott of Wal-Mart on the Friday following Thanksgiving, which is typically the biggest shopping day of the year.

Note from Americans for Truth – Wal-Mart is not the only company participating in this program. Other familiar retailers include:

• 1-800-Flowers (6%)
• Amazon (5%)
• Avon (8%)
• Barnes and Noble (5%)
• Disney Store (5%)
• FTD (6%)
• Gap (5%)
• Hallmark (12%)
• Office Max (4%)
• REI (5%)
• Staples (3%)
• Toys R Us (via Amazon, 5%)
• Verizon Online DSL ($40)

For a complete list of companies donating money from purchases to promote homosexuality, click HERE.

Excerpted from Commentary & News Briefs, published Nov 3, 2006, by American Family Association:

Wal-Mart is projecting no improvement in sales this month, meaning it will mark the retail company’s worst sales performance in ten years. According to the Bloomberg News Service, Wal-Mart officials blame the poor showing in receipts on such things as disappointing clothing sales and disarray from store renovations. Wal-Mart has also been the target of recent protests from pro-family leaders over the company’s decision to partner with a homosexual chamber of commerce group. Wal-Mart recently joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) and announced that it would give two large grants to the organization. According to American Family Association sources, the retail giant was rewarded with a position on the board of NGLCC. Wal-Mart has also announced its intention to give preference to homosexual-owned businesses in purchasing products. [Fred Jackson]

Continue reading at AFA…

October 26, 2006

Mr. Lee Scott
CEO, Wal-Mart
702 SW 8th Street
Bentonville, AK 72716

Dear Mr. Scott:

My husband and I have written to you before to tell you how very disappointed we are that you have led Wal-Mart into a pro-homosexual stance. Because we know what the medical consequences of homosexual activities are, we are worse than disappointed that you have chosen to tarnish the wonderful family friendly reputation of Wal-Mart in order to chase after the business of a small percentage of the American public.

The medical consequences are clear:

• The Centers for Disease Control reports (Statistics and Surveillance, Table 11, end of 2004) that 87% of all full-blown AIDS cases are the result of homosexual practices and/or drug use while only 11% have occurred through heterosexual contact.

• HIV statistics cannot be trusted because as of 2004, only 33 states reported HIV data. Among the 17 states which did not report HIV data are California which has more same-sex couples than any other state in the country (Houston Chronicle, 7.10.06, “Gay-Rights Fight Turns to San Francisco Appeal).

• Dr. Ruth Jacobs, MD stated in an article in The Washington Times (5.8.05):

“Homosexuals account for less than 3 percent of the population. Yet in 2003 men having sex with men accounted for more than 63 percent of newly reported HIV cases in males. Gay and bisexual men account for 10 percent of all new hepatitis A infections and 15-20 percent of all new hepatitis B infections in the United States…”

• Dr. Ronald Stall, Ph.D., research chief for of HIV/AIDS prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, has said:

‘Substance abuse is pervasive among gay men and is so intricately intertwined with epidemics of depression, partner abuse and childhood sexual abuse that adequately addressing one issue requires attention to the others as well. … We have at least four epidemics going on among gay men that are associated with each other and making each other worse.’ (Internal Medicine News March 1, 2004 Volume 38:5 ‘Drug Use Pervasive Among Gay Men.’)”

• When 1,177 HIV-positive men were interviewed about the number of sex partners in a year, these homosexuals admitted they had had from 1 to 500 partners (”The Dangerous Nature of Homosexuality,” J. Michael Sharman, 8.7.06).

You have left us no choice but to boycott Wal-Mart and to tell our friends and acquaintances to do the same. I would encourage you not to ignore those of us families who believe strongly in traditional family values. We have big Internet networks, and the word is spreading all across our country that Wal-Mart has redone its image and is courting business from the homosexual lobby.

You may think that Wal-Mart’s sales have dropped off because of the pressure from labor unions, but what you really need to know is that there are thousands of us out here who have stopped shopping at Wal-Mart because of your pursuit of the homosexual agenda. Some of us may not have said anything but have quietly stopped shopping at Wal-Mart. Others of us are more verbal about our outrage.

In our minds Wal-Mart has lost its clean family image. We used to try to change people’s minds when they would say something derogatory about Wal-Mart. Now we agree with them and shop elsewhere.

Enclosed you will find copies of the receipts showing that our family has spent $835.41 (from 9.7.06 – 10.22.06) at other stores and gas stations. We used to make most of our purchases at Wal-Mart but not any more.

Sincerely,

Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Garner
Hewitt, TX

Wal-Mart has given its full endorsement to the homosexual agenda and homosexual marriage. Boise State University in Boise, Idaho, will observe LGBT Diversity Week October 9–13. One of the sponsors for the Diversity Week is Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart is joining the Pleasure Boutique (an adult bookstore which bills itself as “Idaho’s largest selection of adult movies and DVDs and largest adult toy selection in Idaho”) and other groups in sponsoring the week. Diversity Week is a week of celebrating homosexuality and promoting the homosexual agenda and homosexual marriage.

Among the events being sponsored by Wal-Mart is Idaho Votes No Campaign Update and Information Workshop. Voters in Idaho will be voting on a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage in November. This Wal-Mart sponsored event will inform voters how to oppose the amendment and how to get others to do so. Wal-Mart is putting their money behind the effort to legalize homosexual marriage.

Other events being sponsored by Wal-Mart: Gay History of Idaho, Diversity in the Workplace, Women’s/Lesbian Issues, Hate Based Crimes, Heterosexism, Homosexuality and Disabilities, LGBT Youth in Trouble, MCC-Faith and LGBT, and a youth dance for those age 24 and under.

TAKE ACTION

1. E-mail Wal-Mart or call 1-800-WAL-MART.
2. Call or e-mail your local Wal-Mart manager with your concerns.
   
3. Print out and distribute AFA’s Pass Along Sheet.

…Wal-Mart hired Witeck-Combs Communications, a marketing shop known for its work targeting the gay and lesbian consumer market, according to Bob Witeck, president of the Washington-based firm…

Founded in 1993, the eight-person agency’s client list boasts automotive brands Volvo, Land Rover, and Jaguar, in addition to American Airlines, Citigroup and at least a dozen nonprofits, such as the American Association of People with Disabilities.

Witeck-Combs, a member of the NGLCC, is also a participant in the organization’s supplier-diversity initiative, or SDI, a certification program launched this year and modeled after minority- and women-supplier development programs. Corporate participants already include IBM, American Airlines, Motorola and American Express.

…As part of the Wal-Mart Stores partnership with the NGLCC, Dee Breazeale, VP-divisional merchandising, Sam’s Club Jewelry, has joined the organization’s Corporate Advisory Council and Wal-Mart will sponsor two of the organization’s annual conferences.

Mr. Nelson said Wal-Mart approached the organization four months ago, expressing interest in the supplier-diversity initiative. “The expectation is that Wal-Mart will encourage their core suppliers — the P&G’s, the Johnson & Johnson’s and the Gillette’s — to also diversify their revenue streams to include LGTB businesses,” Mr. Nelson said.

He said the retailer is “working right now on providing domestic-partnership benefits” and that Wal-Mart may soon join the 261 members of the Fortune 500 that offer the benefits.

The steps being taken by Wal-Mart are the strongest signal yet that the company may be taking a permanent stand on the side of gay rights…

Continue reading at AFA…

Fox News Channel, which owes its No. 1 cable news rating to its immense popularity with conservatives, is donating $10,000 to an organization of homosexual journalists.

Fox News tells viewers “We Report. You Decide.” But it has made the donation to “connect with” the estimated 650 journalists who are attending a National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association event at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel this weekend.

The company has joined with the Miami Herald, McClatchy Co., CBS, CNN, Hearst Corp., US Newswire, ESPN, Bloomberg, ABC News, The Los Angeles Times, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Washington Post and Tribune Co. in sponsoring the event for the organization that claims 1,300 members nationwide.

“By sponsoring the ‘Out in the Sunshine,’ you gain a direct link to top media professionals from across the country and around the globe. The various levels of sponsorship allow you increased visibility, and access to influential members of the mainstream and LGBT media,” said the convention website.

A message left with Fox News seeking comment was not returned immediately, but an activist group had a contribution ready for the debate.

Americans for Truth essentially asked Fox News to live up to its own words, or eat them.

Peter LaBarbera

In a letter e-mailed yesterday from AFT chief Peter LaBarbera to Fox News Channel President Roger Ailes, LaBarbera said the network’s “fair and balanced” reputation is on the line.

“Roger Ailes must know that this is folly,” LaBarbera told WND. “I want to make him defend it. If they want to try to tell us they can fund extremist homosexual activists posing as journalists, then the public needs to know.”

There isn’t any “fairness” or “balance” when a news agency such as Fox provides “large grants to a special interest group like the [NLGJA] that demonizes religious conservatives and, worse, seeks to influence the media nationwide to exclude conservative critics of the homosexual political/ cultural agenda from gay-related stories,” he said.

“A balancing grant to AFT or a like-minded pro-family organization would signal that Fox News Channel is committed to living up to its credo and not taking sides in the Culture War. It would also … show respect for the tens of millions of Americans who do not deserve to be likened to the KKK simply for adhering to historic Judeo-Christian beliefs.”

LaBarbera especially was upset over claims NLGJA members have made that pro-family groups and individuals can be compared to “white supremacists.”

Eric Negedus, the president of the NLGJA, has posted website comments addressing the need for reporters to seek balance when reporting on controversial issues. But he denies the need to seek comment from pro-family organizations when the homosexual agenda is the subject of the report.

“Specifically,” Negedus wrote, “how appropriate is it to quote interviewees whose ideas could be considered homophobic?

“Certainly, news organizations have written extensively about white supremacists and other hate groups. For instance, in October we saw a flurry of stories about 13-year-old twins Lamb and Lynx Gaede, who use entertainment to promote the supremacist movement … But I doubt that any journalist is adding them to a source contact list for bringing ‘balance’ to future stories about reparations, interracial marriage, the Holocaust or immigration.

“That same ethic needs to extend to LGBT coverage, too,” he said.

He said that journalists will have to start choosing those they interview by “rethinking the appropriateness of both questions and answers.”

LaBarbera said the NLGJA calls itself a professional organization for journalists, but still campaigns that covering “both sides” of homosexuality-related issues is like quoting the KKK on stories about race.

“Their obsession is societal approval,” LaBarbera said. “Whatever institution they’re at, they want approval. They say they’re objective journalists but their leaders are comparing pro-family people to the KKK. The people are deluded if they think of themselves still as journalists first.”

The idea that Christians and the KKK equate isn’t going to fly, he said.

“I believe society is still not that far gone. There’s still a lot of common sense in the country,” he said.

Also on the list of contributors was Wal-Mart, which recently confirmed to WND that it has joined the “gay and lesbian” chamber of commerce.

Negedus, in his online writings, also took a shot at WND, whose managing editor, David Kupelian, wrote “The Marketing of Evil,” in which he documents the “gay rights” agenda and campaign in America.

Negedus noted that the book concludes that the mainstream press has contributed to the “gay-ing” of America by working in tandem with the movement’s public relations machinery.

“To that, I say nonsense,” Negedus wrote.

LaBarbera also had another reaction, too.

He noted that there have been almost $500,000 in contributions for a convention that is expected to attract about 650 journalists. He said he wondered where the money was going.

While the left likes to pretend that Fox News Channel is a right-wing conservative news organization, Fox has always claimed it is “fair and balanced”, trying to portray the image of center of the road. However, their “fair and balanced” claim will be under close scrutiny by conservatives this week as a pro-family group has asked Fox News to match a $10,000 donation to a homosexual journalism organization, with a donation to pro-family group.

Fox News is listed as a “Feature Level” sponsor of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) annual convention which began yesterday and runs through the weekend in Miami. See the NGLA sponsorship page featuring Fox News as a sponsor: http://www.nlgja.org/convention/2006/sponsors.htm

The controversy is of heightened intensity since the leader of the NLGJA recently compared pro-family critics of homosexuality to “white supremacists.”

Americans for Truth (AFT) is asking Fox News Channel to be “fair and balanced” by giving $10,000 to a conservative group to match its donation to NLGJA. In a letter sent today to Fox News Channel President Roger Ailes, AFT President Peter LaBarbera wrote: “FOX News cannot claim to be ‘fair and balanced’ in its coverage of homosexuality while providing large grants to a special interest group like the [NLGJA] that demonizes religious conservatives and, worse, seeks to influence the media nationwide to exclude conservative critics of the homosexual political/cultural agenda from gay-related stories.”

NLGJA National President Eric Hegedus has suggested that covering “both sides” of homosexuality-related issues is like quoting the KKK on stories about race. On NLGJA’s website, Hegedus wrote: “How appropriate is it to quote interviewees whose ideas could be considered homophobic? … Certainly, news organizations have written extensively about white supremacists and other hate groups… But I doubt that any journalist is adding them to a source contact list for bringing ‘balance’ to future stories about reparations, interracial marriage, the Holocaust or immigration. That same ethic needs to extend to LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] coverage, too.” (see the full message from Hegedus: http://www.nlgja.org/news/presidentmessagewinter06.htm )

LaBarbera suggests in his letter that Fox News Channel give a “balancing grant” to a pro-family organization since it would “signal that Fox News Channel is committed to living up to its credo and not taking sides in the Culture War.” LaBarbera adds, “It would also … show respect for the tens of millions of Americans who do not deserve to be likened to the KKK simply for adhering to historic Judeo-Christian beliefs.”

In related news, Wal-Mart Corporation is also listed among the $10,000 sponsors of the NLGJA convention.

To express concerns to Fox News Channel:
Call:
1-888-369-4762

Email:
FOXaroundtheworld@foxnews.com (non-U.S. viewers only)

NAPERVILLE, Illinois—Americans for Truth is asking Fox News Channel to be “fair and balanced” by giving $10,000 to a conservative group to match its donation to a homosexual journalists’ organization whose leader recently compared pro-family critics of homosexuality to “white supremacists.”

In a letter sent today to Fox News Channel President Roger Ailes—following FOX’s $10,000 sponsorship gift to the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) annual convention—AFT President Peter LaBarbera wrote:

“FOX News cannot claim to be ‘fair and balanced’ in its coverage of homosexuality while providing large grants to a special interest group like the [NLGJA] that demonizes religious conservatives and, worse, seeks to influence the media nationwide to exclude conservative critics of the homosexual political/cultural agenda from gay-related stories.

“A balancing grant to AFT or a like-minded pro-family organization would signal that Fox News Channel is committed to living up to its credo and not taking sides in the Culture War. It would also … show respect for the tens of millions of Americans who do not deserve to be likened to the KKK simply for adhering to historic Judeo-Christian beliefs.”

The NLGJA bills itself as merely a professional organization for journalists, yet over the years its members have repeatedly suggested that covering “both sides” of homosexuality-related issues is like quoting the KKK on stories about race—a preposterous analogy especially considering that African Americans poll stronger against “gay marriage” than whites.

NLGJA National President Eric Hegedus repeats the spurious white supremacist comparison on the NLGJA’s website:

“How appropriate is it to quote interviewees whose ideas could be considered homophobic? … Certainly, news organizations have written extensively about white supremacists and other hate groups… But I doubt that any journalist is adding them to a source contact list for bringing “balance” to future stories about reparations, interracial marriage, the Holocaust or immigration. That same ethic needs to extend to LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] coverage, too.”

Wal-Mart Corporation is also listed among the $10,000 sponsors of the NLGJA convention, which began yesterday and runs through the weekend in Miami.

Fox News and Wal-mart are among the high-level ($10,000) sponsors of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association’s (NLGJA) 2006 Convention in Miami (Sept 7-10 at Loew’s Miami Beach Hotel). Every year, the NLGJA garners hundreds of thousands of dollars in Big Media sponsorships for its convention; this year it appears (based on the sponsorship list below) that the total is around half a milliion dollars in corporate support.

The NLGJA bills itself as merely a professional organization for journalists who “happen to be gay,” as the liberal cliche goes. But the organization advocates a pro-homosexual “spinning” of the news not unlike the activist group GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Note, for example, the NLGJA’s advice to the media regarding coverage of Lance Bass, the ‘N Sync band member who recently publicly revealed his homosexuality:

• The term “gay” is the preferred adjective that has largely replaced “homosexual” in referring to men who are sexually and affectionally attracted to other men. “Homosexual” should be used only if “heterosexual” would be used in parallel constructions, such as in medical contexts.

• Whether in headlines, teases, or body copy, try to avoid using forms of the word “admit,” which is typically used in the context of something shameful or illegal. Some examples of less potentially charged words are “announce,” “disclose” and “say.”

While it is true that the “mainstream” (read: dominant liberal) media is so pro-homosexuality these days that it is hard to discern between media activism and plain old homosexual-group activism, that does not make it right. The media should play it down the middle on homosexuality and other controversial issues, not serve as a cheerleader for the “gay rights” cause.

Yet over the years, NLGJA members have repeatedly suggested that covering “both sides” of homosexuality-related issues is like quoting the KKK on stories about African Americans–a preposterous analogy especially considering that Blacks and minorities poll stronger against “gay marriage” than whites. Thus, if you think the Lance Bass advice above is tendentious, try this from NLGJA National President Eric Hegedus (a page designer for the Philadelphia Inquirer), who repeats the spurious white supremacist comparison on the journalist group’s website (emphasis added):

How appropriate is it to quote interviewees whose ideas could be considered homophobic?… Certainly, news organizations have written extensively about white supremacists and other hate groups. For instance, in October we saw a flurry of stories about 13-year-old twins Lamb and Lynx Gaede, who use entertainment to promote the supremacist movement (“Young singers spread racist hate,” said a headline on the ABC News Web site). But I doubt that any journalist is adding them to a source contact list for bringing “balance” to future stories about reparations, interracial marriage, the Holocaust or immigration. That same ethic needs to extend to LGBT coverage, too.

Although not all NLGJA members may share Hegedus’ view on this, clearly the NLGJA is an activist organization with a strong institutional bias against those espousing traditionalist views on homosexuality.

Our question for Fox News executives is: if you are truly “fair and balanced,” will you now give an equal and corresponding grant to Americans for Truth or another pro-family organization, say, Accuracy in Media, that counters the ubiquitous pro-”gay” spin in the media? We’ll be awaiting your answer.

The following are corporate sponsors for this year’s NLGJA conference in Miami:

“Groundbreaker Level” – $35,000

• Miami Herald
• El Nuevo Herald
• McClatchy Co

“Headliner Level” – $25,000

• Planet Out
• Harrah’s
• Jet Blue

“Editorial Level” – $15,000

• MGM Mirage
• BELO
• CBS
• CNN
• Gannett Foundation
• Hearst Corp
• Coca Cola
• Orbitz
• US Newswire
• ESPN
• Verizon
• Microsoft

“Feature Level” – $10,000

• NBC Universal
• Key West
• Gilead
• Toyota
• IBM
• Passport
• (illegible)
• Bloomberg
• Wal-Mart – [That’s right, the same Wal-Mart that recently gave $25,000 to National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce is also sponsoring NLGJA–Ed.]
• Sam’s Club
• Fox News

“News Brief Level” – $5,000

• ABC News
• GM
• Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Hill & Knowlton
• Kimpton Hotels
• Nielson Media Research
• Q Syndicate
• UBS
• China Grill

“Source Level” – up to $5,000

• Los Angeles Times
• Page & Author
• South Florida Black Journalists Association
• South Florida Sun-Sentinel
• Washington Post
• Tribune Company

…Wal-Mart, which will pay the chamber $25,000 annually,
has agreed to conduct workshops for gay and lesbian business owners on how to break into the Wal-Mart supplier ranks, said Justin Nelson, chamber president and co-founder.

Continue reading in The Chicago Tribune…