Fur Free Friday Recap!

Massive Layoffs at Focus on the Family After Prop 8 Win

Serves them right

by Cara DeGette fro RH Reality Check

Focus on the Family announced major layoffs to its Colorado Springs-based ministry and media empire yesterday, totaling 202 jobs cut companywide. The cutbacks come just weeks after the group pumped more than half a million dollars into the successful effort to pass a gay-marriage ban in California. Initial reports bring the total number of remaining employees to around 950.

Critics are holding up the layoffs, which come just two months after the organization's last round of dismissals, as a sad commentary on the true priorities of the ministry.

"If I were their membership I would be appalled," said Mark Lewis, a longtime Colorado Springs activist who helped organize a Proposition 8 protest in Colorado Springs on Saturday. "That [Focus on the Family] would spend any money on anything that's obviously going to get blocked in the courts is just sad. [Prop. 8] is guaranteed to lose, in the long run it doesn't have a chance - it's just a waste of money."

In all, Focus pumped $539,000 in cash and another $83,000 worth of non-monetary support into the measure to overturn a California Supreme Court ruling that allowed gays and lesbians to marry in that state. The group was the seventh-largest donor to the effort in the country. The cash contributions are equal to the salaries of 19 Coloradans earning the 2008 per capita income of $29,133.

In addition Elsa Prince, the auto parts heiress and longtime funder of conservative social causes who sits on the Focus on the Family board, contributed another $450,000 to Prop. 8.

"They should do more with their half-million dollars than spending it to collect signatures to take the rights away from a class of people," said Fred Karger, the founder of the anti-Prop 8 group Californians Against Hate. "I think it's wrong and it's hurtful to so many Americans."

In addition to promoting socially conservative issues such opposition to abortion and gay rights, and supporting abstinence-only education, the evangelical Christian ministry is a purveyor of Christian books, CDs and DVDs. Two months ago, citing Wal-Mart and online retailers as having cut into its product market, Focus announced that 46 employees would be laid off from its distribution department. Late Friday, Focus spokesman Gary Schneeberger confirmed that more layoffs are in store, but said the ministry will not release details until Monday afternoon. Schneeberger hinted that some programs may be eliminated entirely, but declined to elaborate.

"We're going to need to talk to our own family first," he said. "We need to respect the people who are affected."

Schneeberger also refused to discuss the funding priorities that Focus made this fall, including pumping money and in-kind contributions into Proposition 8.

This is the third year that Focus has laid off employees due to budget cuts. In its heyday, the ministry, which relocated to Colorado Springs from Arcadia, Calif., in 1991, employed more than 1,500 people. Many of those employees worked in mailroom and line assembly jobs, processing so much incoming and outgoing correspondences that the U.S. Postal Service gave Focus its own ZIP code.

In September 2005, nearly 80 employees were reassigned or laid off in an effort to trim millions of dollars from its 2006 budget. In addition, 83 open positions were not filled in the layoff, which included eliminating some of the ministry's programs. At the time, Focus employed 1,342 full-time employees.

"To the extent that we can place them within the ministry, we will try to do that," said then-spokesman Paul Hetrick. "Most of them will not be able to be placed."

In September 2007, amid a reported $8 million in budget shortfalls, Focus on the Family laid off another 30 employees; 15 more were reassigned within the company. Most of the layoffs were from Focus' constituent response services department (i.e. the mailroom).

At the time, Schneeberger, who had replaced Hetrick, said that giving was actually up by $1 million during the fiscal year. However, a very "aggressive" budget goal of $150 million did not materialize.

In a statement issued this September, marking the end of the ministry's fiscal year, Chief Operating Officer Glenn Williams weighed in on the additional layoffs of 46 people.

"It is certainly heartbreaking that in this case fulfilling that duty means having to say goodbye to some members of our Focus family, but industry realities really leave us no alternative," he note in his statement. "We are accountable to our donors to spend their money in the most cost-effective and productive manner possible."

But Lewis, the Colorado Springs activist, wonders whether the families who donate to the nonprofit ministry, realize where their funds really end up.

"Seriously, I would imagine their supporters have got to be asking the question about whether their church is really practicing their theology."

For Lewis, who is straight, the issue boils down to the significance of targeting a class of citizens for exclusion, at the expense of the families that the ministry could be helping - in this case their own employees.

Lewis likened Proposition 8 to Colorado's Amendment 2, the 1992 anti-gay measure that was designed to prohibit gays and lesbians from seeking legal protections. Colorado voters approved the measure, which was marketed by proponents, including Focus on the Family, as an effort to prohibit gays and lesbians from seeking "special rights." The U.S. Supreme Court stuck down the measure as unconstitutional four years later.

"You can't make homosexuals second class citizens - we've learned that already," Lewis said. "People will look back on this and see how absurd it is."

Days before this year's election, Focus founder James Dobson appeared at a closing rally at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego to rally the anti-gay troops.

Karger of Californians Against Hate, termed the rally a "big bust." Organizers promised that more than 70,000 supporters would show up; the final tally was close to 10,000, he said.

Yet three days later, California voters approved the measure with 52 percent of the vote. While the measure will certainly head back to court, California has become the 31st state in the country to pass measures that define marriage as being between a man and woman only. In all, Proposition 8 has proven to be the most expensive social issue in the country, with more than $73 million pumped into the cause from both sides. One of the larger contributors to the anti-Prop. 8 efforts was Colorado gay philanthropist Tim Gill, who contributed $720,000 to oppose the measure.

"I'm very disturbed by organizations from out of state like Focus on the Family," Karger said. "They came in early to make sure the measure got on ballot; they've got muscle and they are out to hurt a lot of people and destroy a lot of lives."

Transgender woman murdered, police beating caught on tape

From PrideSource.

MEMPHIS, Tenn.

A transgender woman who was in the process of suing the city for police brutality, was found murdered in an alley Sunday night.

Duanna Johnson was found shot to death in North Memphis. Witnesses reported hearing gunfire and seeing three men run away. Police said they have no suspects in the murder.

Johnson was the subject of an alleged video taped beating that happened in June of 2008. Johnson, who had been arrested on a prostitution charge, said former Memphis Police Officer Bridges McRae beat her after making derogatory remarks about her sexuality. Johnson said another man, Officer J. Swain, held her down during the beating. Both officers were fired from the department.

At the time, Johnson said before the beating began the officer called her a "he/she" and a "faggot."

Johnson was suing the city for $1.3 million. To view the videotape of the June incident go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N1Bvlbh_ws

Fake New York Times Declares Iraq War Over!

The full picture isn't showing unfortunately, so check out the links below.


Check out the website.

Gawker exposes the hoax.

Ground Noise and Static, part 3: a video about protests at the DNC & RNC

Ground Noise and Static, part 2: a video about protests at the DNC & RNC

Ground Noise and Static, part 1: a video about protests at the DNC & RNC

A Martin Luther King quote

"Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will."

- Letter From a Birmingham Jail, 1963

On "humane" animal products

Window weatherization and a few other energy efficient household tips.

All articles from Care2:

Eight Steps for Window Weatherizing

Cold Weather Window Solutions

Window Quilts

Weatherizing Caulk

Winterizing your home.

You can check out the Alliance to Save Energy, and at this link they even have state-by-state info!

On Election Day

...at the height of the primary campaign, then-Senator Obama was asked, “Who would Martin Luther King support? Would you support you or Senator Clinton?” And without his frequent pauses in thinking, he said, “He wouldn’t support either of us. He’d be out in the street building an independent social justice movement.”

Bad Medicine: AMA Seeks To Outlaw Home Births

See the original blog and comments at this link.

Bad Medicine: AMA Seeks To Outlaw Home Births
Amie Newman on June 16, 2008

In an unmistakably insecure and aggressive move, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a resolution at its annual meeting last weekend to introduce legislation outlawing home birth - according to The Big Push for Midwives.

According to the hard-working women of The Big Push for Midwives campaign, faced with the sisyphean task of convincing the American mainstream medical establishment that midwifery is a viable option for birthing women:

"It's unclear what penalties the AMA will seek to impose on women who choose to give birth at home, either for religious, cultural or financial reasons-or just because they didn't make it to the hospital in time," said Susan Jenkins, Legal Counsel for The Big Push for Midwives 2008 campaign. "What we do know, however, is that any state that enacts such a law will immediately find itself in court, since a law dictating where a woman must give birth would be a clear violation of fundamental rights to privacy and other freedoms currently protected by the U.S. Constitution."

In other words, advocating for legislation of this kind has the eery ring of familiarity. Legislative attempts at "criminalizing motherhood" have at their core coercive control over pregnancy and childbirth. Regina McKnight was recently released from jail after a judge overturned her homicide conviction for giving birth to a stillborn baby.

Likewise, Colorado's ballot initiative in support of a "personhood amendment" would have untold consequences for pregnant women who accidentally or otherwise miscarry a pregnancy. If a fertilized egg is conferred "personhood" status why would a miscarriage not be investigated as potential murder?

The legal issues surrounding "fundamental rights to privacy" also, of course, reverberate throughout the discussions around Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to have an abortion in this country. Those who fight rigorously to strip away womens' legal right to an abortion somehow seem to skirt the issue of what might happen to a woman if she does choose to access an illegal abortion.

What the AMA's resolution and these other kinds of potential and actual legislation do is to open the door to penalizing motherhood, in effect. Because most of these legislative attempts do not directly address the issue, they leave the door dangerously open to criminalizing women for making the decisions they feel are best for themselves, their fetuses and their families.

Proposing this kind of legislation would also force women to birth in government-approved settings, a scenario that seems almost unbelievable. According to the Big Push for Midwives:


Until the AMA proposed ‘Resolution 205 on Home Deliveries,' no state had considered legislation forcing women to deliver their babies in the hospital or limiting the choice of birth setting. Instead, states have regulated the types of midwives that may legally provide care. Currently, 22 states already license and regulate CPMs, who specialize in out-of-hospital maternity care and have received extensive training to qualify as experts in the types of risk assessment and preventive care necessary for safe and high-quality care for women who choose give birth at home. Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs), who are trained primarily as hospital-based providers, are licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.


The resolution did not offer any science-based information for the AMA's anti-midwife or anti-home birth position.

Steff Hedenkamp, Communications Coordinator for The Big Push for Midwives says, "Maternity care is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States. So it's no surprise to see the AMA join the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in its ongoing fight to corner the market and ensure that the only midwives able to practice legally are hospital-based midwives forced to practice under physician control. I will say, though, that I'm shocked to learn that the AMA is taking this turf battle to the next level by setting the stage for outlawing home birth itself-a direct attack on those families who choose home birth, who could be subject to criminal prosecution if the AMA has its way."

If you'd like to help The Big Push for Midwives fight this please visit their web site and push back against attempts to "deny American families access to safe and legal midwifery care."

Update, 2:45pm, EDT: Wanted - Ricki Lake! Apparently the AMA has issued Resolution 205 partially in response to none other than Ricki Lake and her campaign to promote midwifery and natural childbirth as a safe option for healthy women via her documentary, The Business of Being Born. Safe Birth Ohio notes that, in Britain, mainstream medical associations like the Royal College of Gynecologists have come to very different conclusions about the safety of home birth as an option for healthy, laboring women. And, yet, the AMA has swung the pendulum in the opposite direction deciding homebirth should be outlawed and that Ricki Lake is dangerous to mamas everywhere.

Say NO to the Olympics being in Chicago!

Capitalism Gives Us The Creeps video