FOCUS Expands to 50 Campuses Nationwide

By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

An increasing number of students returning to campus this fall stand a good chance of encountering a missionary of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), which recently announced that it will now be present on 50 colleges during the 2010-11 school year.

Read the rest…

New List of Corporate Donors to Planned Parenthood Released

By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

Life Decisions International (LDI) has released an updated version of the Corporate Funding Project (CFP) that identifies corporations that support Planned Parenthood.

The  Corporate Funding Project, which produces an updated list twice a year, focuses on educating  corporate officials about the agendas of Planned Parenthood in an effort to convince them to deny support to this dangerous group. LDI suggests pro-life consumers boycott these corporations so as not to be responsible for indirectly funding Planned Parenthood.

The latest list includes AOL, Kohl’s department stores, Mrs. Fields cookies, Staples, Toys “R” Us, ING financial services and Trader Joe’s. A number of hotel and restaurant franchises are also on the list such as Darden Restaurants (which owns Bahama Breeze, The Capital Grille, LongHorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Season 52) and Hilton Worldwide (which owns Conrad Hotels, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inns/Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Hotels and Homewood Suites).

The Gap, Freddie Mac (which provides government-sponsored secondary mortgages), Time Warner, Nike, Nationwide Insurance, Walt Disney, Wells Fargo (including Wachovia Bank) and Johnson & Johnson are among the entities that have returned to the list.

“As a direct result of the commitment, action and prayers of pro-family people, at least 256 corporations have stopped funding Planned Parenthood,” said Kenneth C. Garvey, LDI’s Director of Communications.  It is estimated that the boycott has cost Planned Parenthood more than $40 million since the Corporate Funding Project (CFP) began nearly 18 years ago.

“This should serve as a testament to those who thought it impossible to change corporate philanthropic behavior,” he added.

Garvey was critical of pro-life organizations that continue to use PayPal even though it has been a boycott target for several years now. “PayPal is owned by boycott target eBay,” Garvey said. “Most pro-life groups are aware that it is a boycott target because it has funded Planned Parenthood, but they have consciously chosen to continue doing business with the company. Doing so is indefensible.”

Garvey said alternatives to PayPal exist, and he will gladly help anyone who has trouble tracking them down. “It is unconscionable that anyone who claims to be pro-life would willingly do business with a company that funds the number one enemy of preborn children,” Garvey said.

The new Boycott List also includes a “Dishonorable Mention” section, which identifies charitable groups that are associated with Planned Parenthood and/or its agenda. Groups named in this section include Lions Clubs, the American Cancer Society, Easter Seals, Boys & Girls Clubs, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Camp Fire, Girls Inc., Girl Scouts, Kiwanis Clubs, March of Dimes, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Rotary Clubs, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Salvation Army, YWCA, America Gives Back (formerly [American] Idol Gives Back), and YMCA, among others.

“This has not been some sort of ‘Jesse Jackson boycott’ where we make news for a few days and then go away,” said LDI Chairman Thomas C. Strobhar. “Corporate officials are learning that those who value life are among the most dedicated people on earth. We will not go away until corporate involvement with Planned Parenthood comes to an end.”

For more information about the CFP, including the steps taken before a corporation is placed on The Boycott List, click here.

© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com

Taxpayers Fund On-Line Sex Diaries

Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

In yet another example of taxpayer abuse, it has been discovered that the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) has awarded more than $250,000 to a University of Washington study that established “web-based sex diaries” for homosexual men as young as 16 in order to collect “sexual behavior data.”

Read the rest…

Lawmaker Says Jesus’ Golden Rule Made Him Vote for Elena Kagan

By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is coming under fire for saying that Jesus’ Golden Rule – “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” – is what convinced him to cast his vote for pro-abortion Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, a woman who was responsible for doctoring a medical association’s official position on partial birth abortion that was later used by the courts to uphold the gruesome practice.

Read the rest…

House of God’s Light Prayer Groups

MF writes: “What is your opinion of the ecumenical prayer group, House of God’s Light, affiliated with the Catholic ministry Heart of the Father? They pray in a Presbyterian Church and are involved with using a deliverance ministry. They appear to be part of the Charismatic renewal. Can’t some ecumenical activities lead to a mindset of moral relativism? If all churches are equal, who has the truth? Also, if some of the involved churches promote abortion and gay rights, isn’t there the risk of giving aid and comfort to the enemy? (We are in a culture war, especially in the area of pro-life.)”

Read the rest…