Pennsylvania TownHall -- Where the Voice of Pennsylvania is Heard!

PA Family Institute

PA Family Update

by News Article

FAMILY UPDATE
Volume 4, Issue 28
November 20, 2008
The Pennsylvania Family Institute's weekly update to concerned citizens.
Michael Geer, President
Attention: PA Family Institute has printable versions of the Family Update that can be downloaded and printed easily!Follow this link to get a 1-page version that you can hand out to your friends and family: http://www.pafamily.org/index.php?pID=78
!Please forward this email to family and friends!
________________________________________
Quote of the Week
"Our task is to clarify the law — not to muddy the waters, and not to exact overcompliance by intimidation. The states and the federal government are entitled to know before they act the standard to which they will be held, rather than be compelled to guess about the outcome of Supreme Court peek-a-boo." ~ Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
________________________________________
Pennsylvania News
Two vs. One on Radio Smart Talk? The president of Pennsylvania Family Institute, Michael Geer, was a guest on Radio Smart Talk on Monday along with Liz Bradbury, Executive Director of PA Diversity Network (who supports same-sex marriage). The discussion centered on Proposition 8, the Marriage Protection Amendment that passed on Nov 4 in California. Some listeners later told us they thought it was really two against one—since the host seemed to side with his opponent. You can listen to the podcast linked on our homepage at www.pafamily.org.
Pennsylvania Expecting a Budget Shortfall of $1-2 Billion. Gov. Rendell announced spending and agency cuts in the coming days as the state expects a shortfall of one to two billion dollars. Meanwhile, the governor is still proposing an expansion of the health insurance program, and is hinting at the possibility of raising taxes. Senate Republican leaders insist that taxes will not be raised and that there is not enough money to cover expansion of programs such as the ones the governor is proposing if the state doesn't even have the money to pay for the programs they are currently running. Rendell retorted calling the GOP leaders, "mean, wrong-headed and insensitive to people's needs."
Pregnancy Center Opens in City of Philadelphia. Less than two miles from two main abortion providers in the city, Planned Parenthood and the Philadelphia Women's Clinic, The HOPE Center opened to provide pregnancy support. While 40 percent of state abortions happen in the city, most crisis pregnancy centers are located in the suburbs. Former Philadelphia Eagle, Rev. Herb H. Lusk II opened The HOPE Center through his People for People community outreach organization to counter that statistic and help expecting couples. Rev. Lusk is a past recipient of Pennsylvania Family Institute's Power of One award.
House Leadership: Some Old, Some New. The Democrats (104-99 majority), elected Keith McCall as Speaker of the House, Todd Eachus as Majority Leader and Bill DeWeese as Majority Whip. Special note: DeWeese is the former majority leader. The Republicans stayed with Sam Smith as Minority Leader and newly elected Mike Turzai as Minority Whip.
News posted daily at www.PAFamily.org!
________________________________________
Marriage News
New Jersey Forces eHarmony to Match Homosexual Couples. The California-based eHarmony will begin providing same-sex matches as part of a settlement with New Jersey 's Civil Rights Division. In addition, eHarmony will pay the division $50,000 to cover administrative costs. It will also pay Eric McKinley $5,000 and give him a free one-year membership to its new service; McKinley is the person that filed the complaint against the company. These actions are a result of the anti-discrimination law on the books in New Jersey. This is the same law used to penalize the (Methodist) Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association when it refused to host a lesbian "commitment" ceremony in its wedding chapel. PFI will continue to oppose a similar "anti-discrimination" in Pennsylvania because of its threat to religious liberty.
Challenges to Prop 8 Being Heard by California Supreme Court. California's highest court agreed to hear several legal challenges to the state's new marriage protection amendment but refused to allow gay couples to resume marrying before it rules. The California Supreme Court accepted three lawsuits seeking to nullify Prop 8, the constitutional amendment approved by 52% of Californians on Nov. 4, 2008.
More marriage news posted at www.PA4Marriage.org!
________________________________________
National News
Internet Gambling On its Way to Being Banned in US. The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve issued rules that bar financial companies from processing payments connected to most gambling Web sites, effectively making Internet gambling illegal.
Bishops Urge Catholics to Speak Out for Unborn Life. 300 bishops, at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore, adopted a formal blessing for a child in the womb and drafted a document asking President-elect Barack Obama not to erode gains made by right-to-life supporters. Bishop Robert Hermann of St. Louis said, "We have lost 50 times as many children in the last 35 years as we have lost soldiers in all the wars since the Revolution. I think any bishop here would consider it a privilege to die tomorrow to bring about an end to abortion. If we are willing to die tomorrow, we should be willing, until the end of our lives, to take all kinds of criticism for opposing this horrible infanticide."
________________________________________
PFI News
Don't Miss Michael Geer's The Common Good and Family Update Radio Shows on Christian Radio Stations throughout Pa. and online through our podcasts.
This Week's Guest: Gov. Mike Huckabee.
This Week's Topic: Why definitions matter (marriage, life), through the story of his son baking a cake, and not knowing the definition of a "dash" of salt.
Order a Copy of Gov. Huckabee's Speech. We are now offering CDs or DVDs of the full speech given by Gov Mike Huckabee on Oct 10. To order a copy of the entire speech, please call us at (800) FAMILY-1.
Look for Michael Geer's annual year-end update letter coming in the next couple of weeks. If you don't get yours, be sure to call us, and we'll send you a copy.

The Pennsylvania Family Institute is a non-profit organization made possible through financial donations from our supporters. To donate to Pennsylvania Family Institute, click here: www.pafamily.org/donate
23 N. Front St. Harrisburg, PA 17101 ~ Phone: 717-545-0600 ~ Fax: 717-545-8107 ~ www.pafamily.org