AFA of PA ACTION ALERT
August 20, 2010
Issues (check corresponding number in ‘Details’ and ‘Action’ Sections)
1.) Ground Zero Mosque
2.) Parental Rights Amendment
Details
1.) The controversy grows about the possible construction of an Islamic mosque near ground zero. Arguments are being raised that Muslim service members pray in the Pentagon just 80 feet from where the plane struck the building on 911. We are told we must show religious tolerance and permit the building of the mosque. Here are a couple other things to consider: yes, Muslims do pray in the Pentagon chapel that was constructed in 2002; but so do Christians, Buddhists, etc., etc. because it is an ‘interfaith’ chapel not used exclusively by Muslims. Rabbi Aryeh Spero calls it a “Trojan Horse Mosque” and says it is the second attack on Ground Zero. The first was a frontal attack while this second is a stealth attack. The proposed location is right on Wall Street where there is a minimal number of residences, thus there is no need for a 12-13 story $150 million mosque. Rabbi Spero goes on to say that if this mosque is built, the Muslims will wine and dine Wall Street investors and brokers and tell them all that is good with Sharia finance. Do we need another mosque to join the many others that are already in New York City?
2.) Government intrusion has gotten bolder in recent years. You may recall that a father in Tennessee last year took his 13-year-old son to the doctor, and granted permission for the doctor to test his son for drug use. Yet, when the tests came back, the doctor refused to give the father the results, insisting he must have the son’s permission to disclose that information. He cited federal HIPPA regulations as his reason for ignoring the parent’s rights.
And the intrusion is likely to get worse. Several articles and a brand new book written by 20 American law professors urge the banning of all private and home schools in the U.S. in order to protect children from religious indoctrination by their parents. “Perhaps the more appropriate suggestion for our current educational dilemma is that public education should be mandatory and universal….” (Martha Albertson Fineman, What Is Right for Children?, page 237) “If the core principle in a parent’s belief system is that there is only one immutable truth…many educational topics will be off limits. Such ‘private truths’ have no place in the public arena, including the public schools.” (Catherine J. Ross, “Fundamentalist Challenges to Core Democratic Values: Exit and Homeschooling”, page 8 )
The ideas follow the ideas of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Over the past two years groups have been working to get a constitutional amendment to protect parental rights passed. We have gained 140 cosponsors of the Parental Rights Amendment in the U.S. House of Representatives (including Pennsylvania’s Tim Murphy, Joe Pitts, Todd Russell Platts, Bill Shuster, and Glenn Thompson), and 7 in the U.S. Senate, plus 31 senators opposing the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child through S.R. 519 (Neither Senator Arlen Specter or Senator Bob Casey, Jr. are co-sponsors of either.).
Great strides have been made, but if we don’t get to 218 co-sponsors, the House leadership–even if it changes–will not want to schedule a final vote on the floor.
Action Steps
1.) Sign this Vision America petition opposing the Ground Zero mosque.
2.) A.) Reach 80 more petition signers in your congressional district, or enlist 5 others who can each reach 80. Here’s a link to a variety of resources including a petition to gather signatures. B.) Sign up for an online seminar that will better equip you to share the Parental Rights Amendment with your friends and neighbors. To sign up or for more details on either A or B, call Jason at 540-751-1241, or email jason@parentalrights.org.
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