We’re behind in our postings, including this and other tributes to the late, great American Senator Jesse Helms (R-North Carolina), who — like great patriots before him — passed into glory on the Fourth of July. The haters on the Left loved to hate Sen. Helms — homosexual activists even covered his Washington, D.C.-suburban home with a giant “condom” in one childish protest (more on that later) . But he was a better man than they could ever hope to be, as evinced by his sunny demeanor, which never matched their evil caricature of him. We will miss you, Senator Helms. — Peter LaBarbera

Marc Rotterman, senior fellow at the John Locke Foundation and a GOP consultant, writes:

Jesse Helms: American Hero

From Human Events, July 5, 2008

One of my fondest memories of Senator Helms was election night 1990 — when Senator Helms just defeated former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gant.

Let me set the scene…

All the major networks had just “called the race” in Helms’ favor. My wife and I, along with other Helms loyalists and aides, were in a hotel suite in downtown Raleigh watching the returns with the Senator and his wife “Ms. Dot.”

Helms’ supporters had gathered in the first floor ballroom along with all the NC press corps and other media from across the country and the world. As Dan Rather of CBS reluctantly “called the race” for Helms — I recall seeing a big grin coming over the Senator’s face.

By now, the time had arrived to exit the suite and head downstairs so Senator Helms could once again graciously accept another six year term and thank the people for their supported. We all crowded into the elevator.

When we disembarked and we were immediately swamped by a phalanx of reporters and cameras. I, along with several members of Helms staff, formed a cocoon around the Senator and his wife — working to get them through the crowd to the stage and the awaiting microphones. The crowd was at “fever pitch” crying Jessse, Jesseee!

Helms — who understood the art of seizing the moment” better than almost any other public figure I have been associated with — paused after getting to the stage. He waited for the crowd to quiet down. Then, at precisely the right moment, Senator Helm’s said in his Southern drawl…“I’d have been down here sooner — but I was watching the grieving face of Dan Rather as he announced my re-election to the United States Senate.”

The crowd in the ballroom went nuts.

Click HERE to read the reast of Marc Rotterman’s tribute, “Jesse Helms: American Hero”

By J. Matt Barber, Liberty Counsel, July 29, 2008

I’m always mystified when allegedly intelligent, bottom-line-obsessed corporate types abandon the fiscally secure milieu of political neutrality and take sides, officially, on deeply polarizing, socio-cultural issues of the day.

That’s exactly what the formerly family-friendly McDonald’s Corporation recently did. In an apparent effort to pierce the hyper-demanding good graces of the radical homosexual lobby, these clowns (pun intended) have thrown the vast majority of potential Mickey D’s customers, worldwide, under the bus. Because of this colossal corporate blunder, the hamburger giant is now facing an embarrassing and ever-growing international boycott.

McDonald’s self-inflicted woes started back in March, when the company paid $20,000 to have Richard Ellis, McDonald’s “out and proud” homosexual vice president of communications, placed on the board of the innocuously tagged “National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.” NGLCC is an extremist, “gay” activist organization that lobbies for leftist causes, such as “gay marriage,” and pushes for other policies that would grant special privileges to certain individuals who define themselves based upon unhealthy, traditionally immoral and changeable sexual behaviors.

Fast-food chain echoes homosexual activists’ smear

Why does McDonald’s equate defenders of marriage and Judeo-Christian morality with “hate”? TAKE ACTION: Call McDonald’s to let them know about your decision to boycott at 1-800-244-6227 (or 630-623-3000; fax: 630-623-5004). For more information about AFTAH’s Wednesday press conference at McDonald’s world headquarters, write americansfortruth@comcast.

Dear Readers,

Americans For Truth has called a press conference outside of McDonald’s world headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, this Wednesday, July 16, in support of American Family Association’s (AFA) boycott of the fast-food giant. Joining AFTAH and AFA will be representatives of Liberty Counsel, Illinois Family Institute, AFA of Pennsylvania, Culture Campaign and other pro-family advocates — including some moms who will explain why they won’t be taking their children to McDonald’s until the corporation stops promoting homosexuality and “gay” activism.

Note McDonald’s unfortunate choice below of the word “hate” as applied to critics of the company’s pro-homosexual policies. When we’ve reached the point where belief in the Bible and traditional morality is routinely equated with hatred, America has become hostile territory for people of faith. Sadly, pro-homosexual “diversity” is becoming a code-word for anti-Christian bigotry, as we at AFTAH have experienced before. (See our story about the founder of DiversityInc magazine, Luke Visconti, outrageously equating this writer (and Americans For Truth) with racist pro-slavery advocates of the past. Click HERE for African American ex-lesbian Charlene Cothran’s response to Visconti’s ugly and, yes, hateful analogy.)

The Bible is the authoritative Word of God. There is no logical or reasonable way to interpret it as condoning homosexuality or positive “gay” identity. For more on the Bible and homosexuality, see the website of Rob Gagnon, Associate Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

Homosexual activists are consumed with a war against God and nature in a vain attempt to justify their sinful (and often destructive) lifestyle choices. They twist words and create misleading phrases such as “marriage equality” — even though it is clear that divinely-created nature discriminates in favor of male-female (i.e., normal) relationships. (Can homosexual unions produce children on their own? Why are homosexual men linked so disproportionately to HIV and other sexual diseases (this is an excellent piece by Janice Crouse)?)

So much of the “gay” activists’ effort is expended in trying to squelch divine truth on this subject or reinvent the Bible to approve of their sin. Ultimately, that translates into a crusade to censor truth-tellers: mostly Christians and other religious people who refuse to compromise on the Bible’s truth that homosexual behavior is always sinful — yet, thank God, overcomeable through Christ (see also Janet Boynes’ ex-lesbian testimony). This lawsuit may be frivolous and a publicity stunt, but it is a portent of many anti-Christian lawsuits to come. — Peter LaBarbera

Our friends at LifeSiteNews.com report:

Homosexual Man Sues Bible Publishers over Scripture Verses against Homosexuality

By Peter J. Smith

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, July 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A homosexual man upset by biblical verses condemning homosexuality as a sin has decided – in lieu of suing God or claiming damages from the Holy Spirit – instead to go after two Christian publishers for their versions of the Bible, which he says violate his constitutional rights and have caused him emotional pain and mental instability.

Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Michigan filed a suit in US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on July 7 against Zondervan Publishing House Corp. seeking $60 million. Fowler also filed another suit earlier in June seeking $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing, based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Defending marriage is not “hate.” At left we’ve modified a radical San Diego homosexual group’s dark anti-Doug Manchester artwork calling for a protest next week against his Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel (see real hotel photo below) because Manchester gave $125,000 to support the California Marriage Amendment. Pro-marriage Californians should support Manchester and all businessmen who support the marriage amendment in the state.

According to some militant homo-fundamentalists in San Diego, supporting the preservation of marriage as solely between a man and a woman constitutes “hate.” Acting on that absurd and bigoted notion, “queer” activists in San Diego are planning a protest against hotel owner Doug Manchester, to be held Friday, July 18 (1:00-2:00 PM) at Manchester’s San Diego Grand Hyatt Hotel. Manchester, to his credit, gave $125,000 to the California Marriage Protection Amendment effort. A strong Catholic, he is worried that “gay marriage” in the state will lead to lawsuits against religious schools that teach that real marriage is between a man and a woman — i.e., that the counterfeit homosexual variety is wrong.

Folks, can you see the escalating anti-religious harassment that follows the progression of the homosexual activist movement? To affirm their “rights” and contorted brand of “equality” (which is actually radical egalitarianism), they need to tear down Judeo-Christian tradition and culture. Now is the time for all marriage supporters and defenders of sexual sanity to frequent hotels and businesses owned by pro-family marriage defenders like Doug Manchester. Unilateral Christian disarmament in this “culture war” will lead to state-sanctioned oppression of people of faith — it’s that simple.

Here’s the link to Doug Manchester’s Grand Hyatt Hotel, and that to his other hotel in San Diego: the Grand Del Mar. — Peter LaBarbera

HRC uses 11 criteria to rank corporations — including shunning pro-family groups

By Peter LaBarbera

McDonald’s Corporation scored an 85 percent ranking on the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) “Corporate Equality Index.” HRC, the nation’s leading homosexual lobby group, publishes the corporate survey every year. The following are the 11 criteria used by HRC to evaluate whether a major company is sufficiently pro-homosexual and pro-transsexual; note that McDonald’s passed all but one test (a gender-identity ‘nondiscrimination’ policy– criterion 2a). (AFTAH has endorsed a nationwide boycott of McDonald’s.) See important explanatory notes at bottom:

2008 Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index Ratings and Breakdown:

• Criterion 1a: [McDonald’s: YES] Prohibits Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation (15 points)
• Criterion 1b: [McDonald’s: YES] Provides Diversity Training Covering Sexual Orientation (5 points)
• Criterion 2a: [McDonald’s: NO] Prohibits Discrimination Based on Gender Identity and/or Expression (15 points)
• Criterion 2b: [McDonald’s: YES] Provides Diversity Training Covering Gender Identity OR Has Supportive Gender Transition Guidelines (5 points)
• Criterion 2c: [McDonald’s: YES] Offers at Least One Transgender Wellness Benefit (5 points) +
• Criterion 3a: [McDonald’s: YES] Offers Domestic Partner Health Insurance (15 points)
• Criterion 3b: [McDonald’s: YES] Offers Domestic Partners Dental, Vision, COBRA and Dependent Coverage Benefits (5 points)
• Criterion 3c ++: [McDonald’s: YES] Offers at Least Three Other ‘Soft’ Benefits for Domestic Partners ++ (5 points)
• Criterion 4: [McDonald’s: YES] Has Employer-Supported Employee Resource Group OR Firm-Wide Diversity Council (15 points)
• Criterion 5: [McDonald’s: YES] Engages in Appropriate and Respectful Advertising, Marketing or Philanthropy (15 points)
• Criterion 6: [McDonald’s: YES] Exhibits Responsible Behavior Toward the GLBT Community; Does Not Engage in Action That Would Undermine GLBT Equality. Employers Found Engaging in Such Activities Will — Have 15 Points Removed From Their Scores. (—) +++

Homosexualists seek to use repressive powers of state to silence all expressions of opposition

The following is Laurie Higgins’ response to British pro-homosexual activist Peter Bradley’s e-mail to AFTAH stating, “You are very lucky that you live in the United States as we have laws in the United Kingdom about inciting hatred based on sexual orientation… here you would be imprisoned; and justly so.” Other responses to Bradley’s letter are HERE by Ron Loree and HERE by fellow Brit David Burdett.

__________________________

By Laurie Higgins

After reading Mr. Bradley’s troubling email to AFTAH, I am even more deeply thankful for our proper understanding here in the United States that liberty depends on the freedom to speak and practice one’s religion. If, as Mr. Bradley claims, I would be imprisoned in the United Kingdom for what I’m about to say, I’m sure glad I live here.

I must respectfully disagree with an implied contention in Mr. Bradley’s polemic: making claims about the immorality of certain kinds of conduct does not constitute incitement to hatred. If it did then Mr. Bradley’s implicit claims that Mr. LaBarbera’s actions are immoral would constitute inciting hatred toward people of faith who hold that homosexual conduct is wrong.

“In fact, the most hate-filled people we have ever met are the homosexual activists who are forcing their world view on others.”—David Burdett, UK

Dear AFTAH supporters,

David Burdett’s excellent letter responding to a fellow Brit, Peter Bradley, who says Americans For Truth would be “imprisoned” in the UK, reminds us that the battle for Truth on this issue is worldwide in its scope. We who reject the immoral, anti-Christian homosexualist agenda and the homo-fascism that it naturally spawns must work together to preserve freedom and the time-tested Judeo-Christian sexual ethic. — Peter LaBarbera

Read Bradley’s censorious message HERE, and write us with your response defending American freedom and Judeo-Christian norms at americansfortruth@comcast.net. Mr. Burdett writes June 25 through AFTAH’s website:

Dear Mr. Bradley,

My wife and I are Christians and from England, we believe that the homosexual lifestyle in sinful and we have should have the right to be able to express our religious beliefs without fear of being branded as hate-inciting criminals. In fact, the most hate-filled people we have ever met are the homosexual activists who are forcing their worldview on others. We all have free will to live as we choose and I accept that. However, we object in the strongest possible terms to the ‘gay’ agenda being forced onto us via the schools (teaching four-year-olds about same sex relationships); via the TV (the Heinz advert [in the UK showing a homosexual male couple kissing; Heinz pulled the ad after British protests]; two priests getting “married” in a church last week; and the pro-gay government and their biased laws.

You seem to think the UK is some kind of great place to live. I guess you haven’t seen the statistics about England’s huge drug problem amongst the young, the rise in teenage pregnancy and spread of sexually transmitted diseases. All of this is due to being a Godless society — thank God we have people like Peter LaBarbera who are not afraid to speak the truth!

Thanks,

David Burdett
London, England