As the research shows, frequent use of pornography distorts the perception of social realities in gender relations, weakens and frequently destroys marriages, has deleterious effects on children and ultimately undermines the sexual capacities of those who become addicted to it.

Not only is it indefensible as an industry, rather it should be severely contained and suppressed because of its effects on family, children and adults. David Ogden’s connections to the pornography industry preclude his ability to serve in the Department of Justice.

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What do the Center for Reproductive Rights have in common with totalitarianism?  The suppression of conscience.

In the name of “choice” CRR is asking people to oppose the rights of conscience of those in health care who do not want to have anything to do with abortion or any other procedure or technology which the professional deems immoral. 

Rather than being sensitive to the differing conscientious stands that citizens and professionals will be taking on divisive issues, CRR and its allies are pushing to ride roughshod over the consciences of professionals. 

This tendency is on the increase in advocacy organizations and needs to be labeled for what it really is … the American form of totalitarianism. In this they join the ranks of those who followed Lenin, Hitler and Mao. 

It is time for all, no matter where they stand on the public issues of morality, to at minimum not violate the conscience of anyone. If we lose that we lose one of the foundations of a humane society, and we can forget democracy.

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The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that The Freedom From Religion Foundation had no legal standing to sue the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for incorporating chaplain work into its veteran health care. What does this have to do with Gramshi, the Italian genius of soft communism?

To have the federal government expand its reach into virtually every corner of life (family, school, health, the economy) and simultaneously to push for a radical “wall of separation of church and state” is to ban religion from life. It is the perfect scenario for a slow but Sherman-like “march through the institutions” as Gramsci envisioned.

As Mapping America shows, the practice of religion is integral to superior outcomes in most dimensions of life, and medicine is no exception as reviews of the literature make clear.

The plaintiff in a case against Veterans Affairs for their support of chaplains’ work with ill patients, The Freedom From Religion Foundation, clearly falls among the ranks of those dedicated to a Gramsciite deconstruction of American society, not a building up of her strengths nor even of the care of her sick soldiers.

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A report from Austrailia’s Productivity Commission claims that an increase in the nation’s birth rate will hurt the economy.

However, if one looks at the Australian Government’s own charts it is clear that Australia is heading into a big demographic problem with way too few children to support an aging population.

The Commission’s suggestion is very shortsighted and parochial: loss of taxes for the government.

The reality view: The longer the fertility increase is delayed the greater the crisis eventually faced. Babies that are not born in a particular year cannot be made up in future years. Australia may later decide to import other countries’ people (but these people will likely be poorer and less well-educated than the children that could be born in Australia).

Furthermore, while the government may lose some taxes short term the average Australian household will likely not be much affected, except those where the mother brings in a very large salary (say over $110,000 per year). U.S. research shows that for married mothers with children who go out to work the income is virtually a wash when all the extra expenses and taxes are factored in (Aguirre M.S. 2006). And this without adding another loss: the loss of household productivity through which the wife adds value to her husbands income (it really is their income, but you get the point) by her own labor value added.

This is a case of an alliance between socialist and capitalist interests. Feed the market for the time being, bring in the taxes and forget the long term common good and definitely forget what women might want.

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Professor Michael New has been a resident scholar for the summer at FRC. Yesterday his NRO Op Ed on the recent Contraception Conundrum demonstrates to “pro-choice” advocates that prolifers are primarily for something, “building a culture of life”, rather than being against something, “anti-abortion”. It is a good read.

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The new sexual revolution–abstinence–is spreading and being noticed. When The Anscombe Society (an Ivy League version of True Love Waits) started at Princeton University some years ago the Wall St. Journal took note. Now the New York Times has a long story on the next big Ivy League player in the new sexual revolution, Harvard University. This is a good read on the culture warriors among the intellectual elite.

Update (4/8): Here’s another good commentary on Harvard’s student-run True Love Revolution.

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