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| Volume 4, Number 6 | The Minnesota Family Council |
October 1998 |
Thousands Rally to Protest Profile of Learning
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A rally to protest the state-imposed "Profile of Learning" drew a crowd estimated at 3,500 to the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol on Oct. 11. Speakers at the "Freedom of Education" rally urged citizens to demand the repeal of Profile of Learning, a comprehensive program implemented by the State of Minnesota, and officially adopted on May 11, 1998.
Just gathering that crowd was one purpose of the rally. Organizer Julie Quist (wife of former gubernatorial candidate Allan Quist) said, "We want to make it clear to the public that people who oppose the Profile of Learning are not alone. One of the things people are encountering when they go to their school boards and principals is that they’re being told that everywhere else people think it’s wonderful, and they are the only ones who don’t. That is not true. There are people opposing it all over the state." CONTINUE...
Why You Need to Vote
What's at Stake?
The two sides of the impeachment debate generally fall between those who believe that character doesn’t matter (or at least not much) in our highest elected officials, and those who believe character plays a significant role. Those who downplay the role of character believe morality is divorced from leadership, and that political power and expediency trump principle. CONTINUE...
Are Your Representatives Really Representing You?
Votes Show Views of Candidates
Are
your representatives in Washington, D.C. really representing your viewpoint? The best way
to tell is to look at their voting records.
While speeches and position papers often can mislead or cloud the issue, a vote is a straight yes or no proposition.
Comparing the votes cast by your House member or Senator with your own
views is an important step in the process of deciding who to vote for this election. The
Minnesota Family Council has selected some key votes from this year. Use these vote
descriptions and the information in the accompanying charts to see how your
representatives voted. And be sure to check out the Voter’s Guide included with this
issue for other important information.
U.S. House
1. Tax Limitation Amendment (HJ Res 111). The House failed to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution by a 238-186 margin (a two-thirds majority was needed). This amendment would have required that future tax increases must be approved by a two-thirds "super-majority" vote in Congress. (Roll Call #102, 4-22-98)
2. Prohibit judges from ordering prison releases due to jail overcrowding. The House passed an amendment to the Judicial Reform Act of 1998 (HR 1252), on a vote of 367-52, which would stop judges from giving criminals early releases from prison due to a lack of jail space. (Roll Call #105, 4-23-98)
go directly to states and local school districts in the form of "block grants." The funding would bypass the U.S. Department of Education, essentially ending federal K-12 education programs, and allow states to use the money for their own education program priorities. (Vote No. 91, 4-22-98) CONTINUE...
Osseo Approves Two-Track Sex Ed Program
'Abstinence-Only' Curriculum to be Offered
After a lengthy discussion, the Osseo School Board voted 4-2 to give students and parents a choice between the standard sex education classes currently being offered and a new course which emphasizes the importance of being sexually abstinent until marriage. The school will select materials for the course this year, and the new program should be implemented next fall.
Osseo parent Jeri Gort, who served on the parent’s advisory committee which proposed the two-track system, explains, "The abstinence until marriage curriculum says you need to abstain from sex until you are married. The other curriculum says you should remain abstinent until you’re more mature, or until you’re ready. The other curriculum also teaches the how-to of birth control. The new curriculum will discuss birth control, but will discuss its failures and emphasize that it’s not 100 percent effective." CONTINUE...
Crystal Free Church Case Is Finanlly Resolved
High Court Refuses Appeal
A Minnesota church’s battle to keep the government’s hands out of the collection plate is finally over. When the U.S. Supreme Court opened its current session Oct. 5, it rejected an appeal of the case, bringing to an end years of litigation by Crystal Free Church in suburban Minneapolis.
The appeal was part of an effort by a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee to force the church to return $13,450 in donations made by a couple who later declared bankruptcy. The law allows creditors to recover gifts made in anticipation of bankruptcy if those gifts are "fraudulent transfers" designed to protect assets from creditors. But the Court let stand a lower court ruling which held that forcing the church to return the tithes and offerings would violate the religious freedom rights of the church and the donors. CONTINUE...
Disabled Boy Wins Religious Liberty Battle
A 13-year-old boy with severe physical disabilities won an important religious liberty victory over the Edina School District Sept. 15. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that the Edina School District violated the civil rights of Aaron Westendorp by withholding aid solely because his parents desired that he attend a private, religious school."We’re absolutely delighted with the Court’s ruling. The Westendorps have been waiting a long, long time," said Michael Stokes Paulsen, a University of Minnesota law professor who represented the Westendorps with the support of the Northstar Legal Center, the legal affiliate of the Minnesota Family Council. "The Edina School District has violated Aaron’s rights for over seven years, and has fought us in the courts for two-and-half years. That is a long time in a young boy’s life, and a crucial time in his education." CONTINUE...
Benton County Battles Nude Dancing and Wins—So Far
Rice, a small town in central
Minnesota’s Benton County, had made plans to make the city more family-friendly and
rid it of a sex-oriented business — but things suddenly turned sour. The city’s
only sex-oriented business was scheduled to be closed this year until Randy Tigue, a
Minneapolis lawyer who specializes in these types of cases, came calling. CONTINUE...
Copyright © 1998 Minnesota Family Council / Minnesota
Family Institute - 2855 Anthony Lane South, Minneapolis MN, 55418-3265
phone 612.789.8811, fax 612.789.8858, e-mail mail@mfc.org,
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