CAL Executive Director urges Christians to take full advantage of them
By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League

Your vote in November’s election could be a matter of life or death for hundreds if not thousands of unborn children as candidates for the U.S. House and Senate will set the agenda regarding abortion in the United States. That’s why it is more important than ever for you to know where your candidates stand. And North Carolina Right to Life wants to help.

“National Right to Life has prepared a comparison piece showing where the candidates for U.S. Senate — Richard Burr and Elaine Marshall — stand on abortion,” said Barbara Holt, president of NCRTL. “We are willing to ship this to churches free of charge if they provide us with a shipping address and the number of comparisons the church will need to distribute to its members.”

She said the information sheets will arrive before Oct. 10 so that churches will have time to hand them out before early voting begins on Oct. 14. And for those churches in Congressional Districts 2, 8, 10 and 13, the U.S. House candidates’ views on abortion will also be compared. Read the rest of this entry »

NC Rep. Howard Coble sponsors CARE Act
By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Order a cocktail in a restaurant, start a microbrewery or decide to sell beer at your festival booth and the how, when and where of the transaction are regulated by state law. But click onto a Web site to have a bottle of wine delivered to your door and the rules could get a little fuzzy.

Who has the final say — the state you’re buying from, the state where you live or the latest judicial ruling that may or may not apply precisely to your situation? While the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which ended Prohibition more than 75 years ago, made it clear that states had the power to regulate “transportation or importation” of alcohol into their borders, too often states’ rights to do so are being challenged and eroded.

But the situation could change if H.R. 5034, the Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness (CARE) Act of 2010 is passed. The bill is being co-sponsored by U.S. Congressman Howard Coble (NC-6). Read the rest of this entry »

By Jessica Anderson
John W. Pope Civitas Institute

New UNC system president, Tom Ross, has been speedily confirmed as president of the UNC system. Civitas has uncovered his ties to ACORN and his funding of pro-abortion and gay rights groups in North Carolina.

Thomas Ross, while the head of the Z Smith Reynolds Foundation, steered over $280,000 to Planned Parenthood from 2001-2007 and an additional $50,000 to NARAL Pro-Choice America. Both groups provide abortions and inevitably had the most to gain from the UNC system’s new health care plan, which up until last week included coverage for elective abortions.

Ross gave directly to such groups in the almost seven years he served as Executive Director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a leftist foundation which gives hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to liberal activist groups that support abortion, comprehensive sexual education, gay rights and radical, third-wave feminism. Read the rest of this entry »

Take Christian action at the end of this article
By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League

CHAPEL HILL — Pressure is mounting for the University of North Carolina Board of Governors to eliminate abortion coverage from its college health insurance plan, a policy in which students are automatically enrolled unless they show proof that they already have a creditable plan.

“It is deeply disturbing that a state sponsored health insurance plan is providing coverage and therefore funding, for the direct destruction of innocent human life,” wrote the Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte, and the Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Raleigh, in a call to action in the “Catholic Voice NC.” “We call on the UNC Board of Governors to halt the requirement of students to underwrite those who support this unacceptable practice which seeks to end the life of the weak and defenseless.” Read the rest of this entry »

They insist it’s not about gaming but hire another lobbyist known for his influence in the gambling industry
By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League

PEMBROKE — The largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi continues to send mixed signals to United States lawmakers in its bid for federal recognition — insisting that the push is not about gaming but hiring yet another lobbyist known for his influence in the gambling industry.

The Lumbee tribe, some 55,000 strong and centered in Robeson County, won only limited recognition in 1956 when the government acknowledged members as Indians but denied them access to federal services. Now at stake, with a bill before the Senate, is an estimated $100 million in benefits including medical care, child welfare, community development, scholarships and more.

To encourage the recognition bill’s passage, a provision was added to preclude the Lumbees from having gaming rights, a privilege that typically accompanies tribal status via the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Read the rest of this entry »

Two staunchly pro-life NC lawmakers try to find a way and North Carolina Right to Life says it will take a change in leadership
By L.A. Williams, Correspondent

GOLDSBORO — It took just a few hours on Tuesday for the jury to convict Cesar Laurean, 23, of bludgeoning to death fellow Marine Maria Lauterbach, 20. But neither the verdict nor the sentence — life in prison without parole — address his murder of Lauterbach’s unborn child, nor could it since North Carolina has no law against such a crime.

“I feel so sorry for your daughter,” the victim’s mother, Mary Lauterbach, told Laurean after the verdict was announced. “She will have to live with the shame that her father is in prison for murdering not one but two people.”

Lauterbach was eight months pregnant when she was killed in December 2007. In at least 38 states, her baby — Gabriel Joseph — would have been recognized as the victim of a homicide, resulting in a double murder charge. But, despite repeated efforts of dozens of lawmakers to pass such a law in North Carolina, it has not happened. Read the rest of this entry »

Proposition 19 would legalize the recreational use of marijuana
Christian Action League

In November, California will vote on whether or not to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Fourteen years ago California was the first to pass a state-wide initiative to legalize medical marijuana. For the last two years in North Carolina legislation has been put forward for the legalization of medicinal marijuana. “By looking at California, one can easily see the progression of legalizing medicinal use of cannabis. The intended goal of its advocates is to ultimately legalize the recreational use of the drug,” said Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League.

Arguments made in favor of the legalization of recreational marijuana are strikingly similar to the ones the Christian Action League has been countering in favor of alcohol sales in the Tar Heel state for decades. The two main arguments in favor of Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 are (1) legalizing and taxing marijuana would generate much needed revenue for California, and, (2) legalization would allow law enforcement to focus on other crimes.

This week, however, an excellent editorial was run in the Los Angeles Times written by experts in the fields of drug policy, policing, prevention, education and treatment of drugs. Each authority strongly contends the arguments in favor of the legalization of marijuana don’t add up.

“No, those arguments just don’t stand up to scrutiny and they never have. I strongly urge our supporters to read this editorial,” said Rev. Creech. The commentary is written by Gil Kerlikowske, John Walters, Barry McCaffrey, Lee Brown, Bob Martinez and William Bennett, directors of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the administrations of Presidents Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush. Read the editorial by clicking here

By Barrett Duke
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

Congress is in recess this month. They don’t return until September 13. We can all be grateful for a respite from the attacks on biblical values, the spending, and the relentless efforts to regulate every area of our lives. I wish the recess could be made permanent, but unfortunately, the liberals in Congress will be back at it too soon.

Until then, however, your congressman and senators are back home with you. That means this is your chance to meet with them and talk about the things that matter most to you. Most of these men and women will be holding townhall meetings around their districts and states. They will want to tell you what they have accomplished for you during their time in Washington.

Rather than simply listening to them talk, you should see this as an opportunity to do some talking of your own. After all, unless you plan to come to D.C., this may be your last chance this year to have a face-to-face meeting with the person who represents you and spends your money in the nation’s capital. Read the rest of this entry »

By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League

CHAPEL HILL — Parents packing their teens off to college in the UNC system or adults signing up for at least six hours of classes this fall may find themselves helping to pay for abortions whether they want to or not, thanks to the university system’s new health insurance requirement.

“This is just one example of what happens when people are forced to purchase health insurance. The ones who can’t afford their own policy will automatically wind up on the college system which offers benefits for abortion and for ‘domestic partner’ coverage,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. “And even if they opt out of the coverage for themselves, their premiums stay the same, so they will still be footing the bill whenever another student has an abortion.”

The controversy arose when pro-life students found out that the policy offered to those who could not show proof that they already had insurance included a $500 benefit with a 20 percent deductible for elective abortions. Read the rest of this entry »

By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League

RALEIGH — Back to School — the end of summer rush that marks late August and conjures up images of big yellow buses, long cafeteria lines, rows of desks and bustling hallways — is a bit of a different story for a growing number of Tar Heel students who are being educated at home.

A report released this month by the N.C. Division of Non-Public Education shows an estimated 81,509 children were home schooled in North Carolina during the 2009-2010 school year, a nearly 6 percent increase over the prior year and almost three times as many as a decade ago.

“The most encouraging part of this growth trend is that about two-thirds of home schools in this state are religious schools,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. “This is, I hope, an indication that a new generation is being raised up — one in which faith is fully integrated into all aspects of life.” Read the rest of this entry »