The human race will be extinct in 100 years?

If the man who was instrumental in helping to eradicate small pox knows what he’s talking about, humans will be extinct in 100 years.  The question is:  “Does he?”  Professor Frank Fenner (professor emeritus at the Australian National University) believes man will be gone and “a lot of other animals will, too.”  He adds” “It’s an irreversible situation, I think it’s too late.” Too late for what? Too late to stop man-made global warming and the over population of the earth.

We’ll leave it up to you to decide what to think on the global warming debate.  But on the “over population of the earth,” part, we have to respectfully say:  “Baloney.”  As prestigious as Professor Fenner may be, we suspect he has joined the ranks of other doomsdayers whose pronouncements of overpopulation and impending doom for mankind have failed to materialize.

Perhaps the most famous was Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) who predicted that population growth would outstrip food production and the inhabitants of the earth would starve by 1890.  There has been a string of Neo-Matlthusian experts who have sold their doomsday theories over the last 50 years.

• Paul Ehrlich (The Population Boom, 1968) stated that unless governments take an active role in forcing population growth down “we will breed ourselves into oblivion.”  He insisted that in the 1970’s “hundreds of millions of people (including Americans) are going to starve to death.”  He said he “would take even money that England will not exist in the year 2000.”  Paul’s still around today, but a little less strident in his opinions.
• More recently we have Prince Charles who a few weeks ago warned of ‘monumental problems’ if the world’s population continues to grow at such a rapid pace.
• Professor James Lovelock argues that, as a result of global warming, “billions of us will die and the few breeding pairs of people that survive will be in the Arctic where the climate remains tolerable” by the end of the 21st century.  Lovelock gives us a little better odds than Fenner; however, he claims that 20% of  humanity will be alive when the calendar turns over on 2100 AD.
• Professor Nicholas Boyle of Cambridge University claims that a ‘Doomsday’ moment will take place in 2014.

Fact:  Most developed countries of the world are well below replacement levels.  Close to 50 percent of the world’s population now has sub-replacement fertility rates with the trend in all but two countries continuing downward.

With all due respect Professor Fenner, we reject the Neo-Malthusian notion that “human numbers will invariably grow faster than food supplies, and that each new baby generates a demand on resources which exceed the benefits derived from the new source of labor.”  This ideology, first proposed two centuries ago, continues to be proven wrong.  Human ingenuity and innovation is, and has always been, the key to quality of life and sustainable development.  We have no reason to believe that won’t continue.

Battle for the Soul of Talk Radio?

It’s not news that liberals hate conservative talk radio, but we were surprised to learn of a new strategy developed as an offshoot of candidate Obama’s political action group “Organizing for America.”  Not content to fade into the sunset after getting their candidate elected, they are working now, among other things, to exert influence over the radio airwaves.  Since every attempt on the part of the left to develop a successful talk radio venue has failed, it seems that they’re now going to put their attention to trying to infiltrate highly successful conservative talk radio.

UFI first became aware of this effort when tracking information on Elena Kagan, Pres. Obama’s controversial (and dangerous) Supreme Court nominee.  We found that “Organizing for America: On the Air” had made a major push to have their readers counter anything negative that might be said about Kagan on the radio.

If you go to the “Organizing for America: “On the Air” website you will learn how to get your voice heard on talk radio.  The website links you to the major radio programs, gives counsel on talk radio etiquette, and then even tells you what to say–it gives you your talking points on various topics.  We found this part kind of interesting; you are to report back to them the results of your phone call to the various talk shows.

We figured we might as well take advantage of the money they’ve spent and all of their hard work and use it to our pro-family, pro-life, pro-traditional values advantage.  Go to their website and use it for quick access to all of the talk radio programs.  Of course you’ll then be sharing, on the air, your conservative values, not their leftist talking points.  We won’t insult your intelligence by trying to tell you what to say on air either.

Just for the fun of it, you might even report back to “On the Air” and let them know you used their website to get the word out on the importance of conservative principles like marriage, family and life!

Oh… and if you want talking points, we’d be happy to provide some.

Gary and Tony Have a Baby: CNN’s New Propaganda Piece

It takes a lot of money for two homosexual men to buy…oh excuse me…have a baby–$160,000 to be exact according to a CNN hour-long “documentary” piece that aired last week.   First you have to purchase a human egg from a donor (14 eggs actually), then you have to use sperm from one of men, then you have to pay for in vitro fertilization, then you have to “rent” some woman’s womb, and finally pay for all of the expenses of delivery.  Plunk $160K on the table, please.  Following Mother Nature’s rules is much simpler and costs a fraction.

CNN is most interested in promoting the homosexual lifestyle and agenda, however.  With host Soledad O’Brien lobbing softball questions and never questioning the ethics of deliberately stripping the child of a mother or challenging the gay couple when they expressed fear that a heterosexual might harm the baby because of homophobia.  Much of the program was devoted to talking about the “feel good” nonsense that all children need is love—in an attempt to downplay many decade’s worth of empirical data that show the critical importance of both a father and a mother in the life of a child.

CNN is so vested in pushing forward the homosexual agenda that they even produced a Parent/Teacher Discussion Guide.  Yes, let’s make sure that children are indoctrinated at school too.

The CNN trailer calls Gary and Tony Have a Baby a “Story of America.”  It seems to us that two men “having a baby” more resembles a fairytale.

Go here to see the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giqkdinaiWs

“Washington’s Marriage Petition Case was Not a Defeat for Traditional Marriage”

Although gay advocates are hailing the recent Supreme Court decision on the disclosure of the names of petition signers in the State of Washington as a victory, the situation is far more complicated and there may yet be protection for individuals who sign petitions on controversial ballot initiatives.

We’re sharing a list of articles clarifying what occurred and the impact it will have on the efforts in the U.S. to protect marriage.

http://townhall.com/columnists/KenKlukowski/2010/06/25/marriage_petition_case_was_not_a_defeat_for_traditional_marriage/page/2

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/us/25ballot.html

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jun/10062504.html

http://citizenlinkblog.com/drivethru/author/bruce/

http://wvgazette.com/News/201006250903

.XXX Internet Domain Likely to become Reality

In spite of the overwhelmingly negative response from the public to the possible creation of a .XXX domain, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) appears to be poised to go ahead with its creation.

According to Reuters news agency, “ICANN’s board have argued that in order to maintain neutrality in dealing with domain name assignations, it should create .xxx and allow websites with sexually explicit content to start using the suffix on a voluntary basis.”  The ICANN board had been meeting this last week with the .XXX domain creation at the top of its agenda.

In a UFI blog post from May, we reported on some of the reasons why the creation of a .XXX domain would not solve the current problem of the internet being overwhelmed with pornography.  Many people have been deceived by the misinformation circulated by those who would benefit from the .XXX domain creation.  For additional information, take a look at this well-written explanation by Patrick Trueman, chief of the U.S. Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Criminal Division, Washington, DC.

Here’s some statistics on pornography you may not be aware of:

•    More than $3,000 is spent on Internet porn every second.
•    “Sex” is the number one search term in the world and accounts for 25 percent of all internet searches.
•    There are an estimated 370 million porn websites on the internet which means that the proposed  .XXX domain could become even larger than the internet domain .com

ICANN is expected to make a formal announcement of its decision sometime today.  It appears that the world is going to be subjected to the consequences of a severely misguided decision on the part of ICANN and porn purveyors are going to be celebrating tonight.

Come and Get’m! Condoms for First Graders

Media outlets are buzzing with the news.  A school district in the tiny town on the tip of Cape Cod will be dispensing condoms to first graders.  The school district that includes Provincetown, often referred to as P-Town, will begin in September to allow children as young as first graders to come to the counselor’s office, receive a talk on “abstinence” and then request condoms.

The State of Massachusetts allows school districts to each individually determine their policies regarding sex education.  The school board of P-Town has decided that it is their job to provide children information on sexual matters.   According to school Superintendent Beth Singer, “They are children. They often act without information – on assumption, things they’ve heard, rumor, myth.  I think information is always important for kids.”

Evidently she doesn’t believe that parents need to be brought into the “information” loop, however.  Parents will not be notified when condoms are being dispensed; nor will parents be allowed to “opt out” their children from the condom dispensing program.   Schools have to have parental permission for dispensing aspirin and basic medical care, but not for condoms.

School board Chairman, Peter Grosso, insists that sexual activity is starting younger and younger so condoms need to available to all children.  But Grosso admits “…I really don’t believe we’re going to get first-graders asking for a condom, as a practical matter.”

Really?  Then why force young children into early sexualization patterns and strip them of their innocence?  Why ride rough-shodden over parental rights?  What is to be gained except new customers for Planned Parenthood Clinics.

I guess that kiddie condom manufacturer in Switzerland that we told you about a few months ago has just found a new market.

Is patriotism and love of country the equivalent of nationalism?

Let your voice be heard!  Vote on the current UFI poll question – Is patriotism and love of country the equivalent of nationalism?

Definition of nationalism – Excessive patriotism, chauvinism, the desire for national advancement, the policy or doctrine of asserting the interest of one’s own nation above the interest of other nations.  Excessive loyalty to one’s own nation.

Click HERE and scroll to bottom of the page to cast your vote!

Home Depot underwrites Gay Pride events. Consider finding a new place to shop.

Many of us love our big-box home improvement stores.  But when retailers make it their business to engage in the cultural wars, it may be time to find a new place to purchase our supplies.  Such is the case with home improvement giant, Home Depot.

According to American Family Association (AFA), Home Depot has sponsored and participated in both the 2010 Southern Maine Pride Festival and the 2010 Boston Gay Pride parade. This is not the first year that Home Depot has been involved in sponsoring and promoting “gay pride” either.  Home Depot provided vehicles for use in these parades and had personnel wearing aprons with company identification working the parade route.  Their support for the promotion of the homosexual lifestyle was readily apparent.

Particularly distressing were the Home Depot booths that were set up to provide activities directed at children.  We’ve mentioned in the past that we have been tempted to post some youTube footage of gay pride parades and events, but we were unable to find anything that wasn’t obscene.  Obscene scenes and behavior is part and parcel of gay pride events.  We wonder about the wisdom of parents that would bring their children to gay pride events and are disgusted that Home Depot would want to cater to these misdirected parents by providing entertainment for their children.

The bottom line is this:

“Home Depot should be like a lot of Fortune 500 companies and simply remain neutral in the culture war — don’t give money, don’t give vehicles, don’t lend employee support to homosexual activities on Main Street USA.” (AFA Action Alert)

Perhaps if Home Depot’s bottom line is affected, they might re-evaluate their very public position of support for homosexual behavior and lifestyle.

70% of all ever-married people are still married to the same person

UFI’s question for the week:  “What is the divorce rate in the U.S.?

Your answer:

44% of you answered 50%

41% of you answered 60%

15% of you answered 30%
(This is the correct answer!)

UFI’s poll showed us that even our readers have fallen prey to the divorce myth.  Contrary to the usual media talking point of “the divorce rate is over 50 percent,” the divorce rate for first marriages hovers around 30 percent.   Stated another way, approximately 70 percent of all people who have ever been married are still married to the same person.

So where does the statistic of a divorce rate of 50 percent come from?  It comes from the approximately 30 percent of people who marry and then divorce, and then re-marry and divorce, and then re-marry and divorce…   These individuals who embark on a path of serial marriage and divorce push the overall divorce rate to around 50 percent;  thus, the number that the media likes to tout.

Although it would be better for children and society if the couples staying together for a lifetime were much higher than approximately 70 percent, this rate is good news that should be shared.  Since June is the month of brides and weddings, this is a good time for each of us to embark on a path of setting the record straight.

While you’re offering congratulations and encouragement to newlyweds and sharing this more positive news on marriage with friends and family, you might add:

• Couples who are more married more than 20 years are overwhelmingly likely to stay together; and
• just 4 percent of recently ended marriages involved couples that have been married 40 years or more.  (See Census Bureau statistics)
• The divorce rate has actually been declining slowly and steadily since the late 1970’s.
• Forty percent of all long-married couples are still “passionately in love.”  (a new UC Santa Barbara study)

“My Daddy’s Name is Donor”

The scene was a playground at a small charter school in a suburb of Phoenix.  When asked by a classmate about his parents, the young kindergartner looked perplexed.  “I have two moms, a mommy and a momma.”  “But what about your dad,” asked a persistent classmate.  “Oh, I have a pretend dad; I can look at him sometimes on the internet,” the young boy replied.  So went this actual conversation.

This young kindergartener was a “product” of sperm donation, a common reproductive technology that has been widely practiced around the world for decades.  This kindergartener lives in a fictive world created by his lesbian “mothers” who choose to deny the reality this young boy has a father, a world that cannot acknowledge that this young boy has one-half of himself that he will never be allowed to know.  But he is not alone, nor is this situation only the domain of homosexual relationships.   According to the NY Times:   “Sperm donations generate between 30,000 and 60,000 conceptions every year, and roughly 6,000 children are conceived through egg donation annually as well.   About a million American adults, if not more, are the biological children of sperm donors.”    There are no laws in the U.S. limiting the number of sperm or eggs that can be donated, nor are there disclosure requirements.

Interestingly, European countries like Britain, Sweden, Norway, and Switzerland do not allow sperm and egg donations to remain anonymous.  By law, donor-conceived children can have complete access to their family histories when they turn 18.  These countries have also placed limits on the number of children a sperm donor can father. 

What happens to the children conceived in this fashion?

The Institute for American Values has just released startling findings about the lives of adult offspring of sperm donation.  The Institute for American Values describes their work “My Daddy Name is Donor” as “the first-ever representative, comparative study of adults conceived via sperm donations.”   The Institute studied 485 adults ages 28-45.  They used for comparison groups of young adults (562 adopted as infants and 563 raised by their biological parents).

“For young adults conceived through sperm donation the study reveals that:

*    Two-thirds agree, “My sperm donor is half of who I am;

*    About half are disturbed that money was involved in their conception;

*    More than half say that when they see someone who resembles them they wonder if they are related;

*    Nearly half say they have feared being attracted to or having sexual relations with someone to whom they are unknowingly related;

*    Two-thirds affirm the right of donor offspring to know the truth about their origins; and

*    About half of donor offspring have concerns about or serious objections to donor conception itself, even when parents tell their children the truth.

*    They are twice as likely as those raised by biological parents to struggle with substance abuse or delinquency, and 1.5 times as likely to struggle with depression or mental illness.

*    Donor offspring are more likely to have experience divorce or multiple family transitions in their families of origin.”

To see the full report visit:  http://www.familyscholars.org/assets/Donor_FINAL.pdf

Isn’t donor conception “just like” adoption?

“Adoption is a good, vital, and positive institution that finds parents for children who need families,” states the Institute for American Values publication.  Adoption was created as society’s attempt to replace for a child that which was lost:  a mother and a father.  We would emphasize that adoption bears little similarity to the intentional act of creating and bearing a child and then denying that child either its mother or its father–be it a single heterosexual mother or a homosexual couple.

Children as pawns or trophies in an adult game

One of the most telling comments came from one grown-up donor baby who was quoted in the study describing the feeling of existing entirely for “other people’s purposes, and not my own.”   The confusion associated with the (to be expected) wondering and worrying about your place in your parent(s) world must surely be an invisible wound for children that festers and seeps over time.  How tragic to live your life with a question mark regarding your purpose and your identity; to live with an always nagging feeling that an important piece of your life’s puzzle is missing.

Some of the most compelling arguments against the seemingly cavalier thinking regarding the importance of children being raised by both their mother and father comes from experts who describe a “culture of rejection.”  As divorce thrives and multiple-purpose households evolve, children are caught in the flux with rejection being a core feature–rejected by a donor, rejected by a divorcing parent, rejected by a step-parent, rejection of the family unit as a whole.  Though not all forms of family rejection are deliberately brutal, they nonetheless are serious.   Here’s the point to remember:  Parental fidelity to the relationship that generated a child has a powerful positive influence in the life of that child.  It should not be dismissed as irrelevant.

It is now quite common to hear the argument that since more children are seeing the breakup of their parents, or are experiencing other difficulties, tragedies, and disappointments, another one will hardly make a difference (referring to the growth of single parent households and homosexual parenting arrangements).   Thus, a precedent for loss or suffering is permission to inflict more, or somehow makes it acceptable.   This is a cruel mindset that must be rejected!

Conclusion

Identity–knowing who you are, where you came from, understanding your place–helps form the foundation of a successful life.  Without the knowledge of your genetic history and genealogy, unanswered questions can end up defining you.  The link to our progenitors has a strong pull.

Reproductive technologies have blessed countless lives.  But they can also be used as a tool to thoughtlessly bring harm to vulnerable children who deserve better.  Unfortunately for many children and for society, the trend in public policy is toward adult “needs” supplanting children’s needs.   UFI will continue to help implement public policy that will keep the focus aligned with the best interests of children and their families.

We are beginning a year of preparatory meetings for a worldwide conference on Youth and Children’s Rights (July 2011 in Tunisia) where we will run head-on into organizations and national governments who will turn a blind eye toward the real needs of children.   Issues of reproductive technologies, reproductive rights, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious freedom, and national sovereignty are sure to figure prominently in the negotiations.  We at UFI are preparing to serve the families of the world as we work to exert a positive influence on the outcomes from this gathering.  Stay tuned for ways that you can be involved and help!

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