Wednesday, October 19, 2005

WHERE TO FIND ETERNAL LIFE

“You make search in the holy Writings, in the belief that through them you get eternal life; and it is those Writings which give witness about me.”

(John 5:39)

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.”

(William Barclay)

“Endurance is the crowning quality, and patience the passion of all great hearts.”

(James Russell Lowell)

“Sure I am this day we are masters of our fate, that the task which has been set before us is not above our strength; that its pangs and toils are not beyond our endurance. As long as we have faith in our own cause and an unconquerable will to win, victory will not be denied us."

(Winston Churchill)

ANGER AND HATRED ON DISPLAY AS GAYS
DISRUPT FORUM ON THE SEXUAL ORIENTATION LAW

Rowdy gay rights activists repeatedly interrupted a forum on the sexual orientation law which was held at Mount Desert Island High School on Monday. The gay activists, who one person described as “aging hippies” laughed and howled during a scholarly presentation by Harvard-trained theologian John Rankin of the Theological Education Institute. Worse, a good part of the interruption was directed at the representative of the pro-gay rights side, Dr. John Corvino, who is himself a self-professed homosexual.

The problem John Corvino had with the audience was his unfortunate choice of a topic, same-sex marriage. Shortly into Corvino’s presentation, a heckler stood up and demanded to know why he was talking about same-sex marriage, when same-sex marriage isn’t related to the current law. Dr. Rankin explained that he had invited a representative from Maine Won’t Discriminate, but he declined. 

There wasn’t much “tolerance” and “diversity of opinion” on display Monday night. What could have been an interesting and enlightening debate turned into an unfortunate display of anger and hate on the part of the gay rights activists, directed ironically at one of their own. 

Meanwhile, in another debate forum with Mike Heath, John Rankin, and Representative Shawn Faircloth, held at the Bangor Campus of the University of Augusta, Heath asked Faircloth point blank to define the term “gender identity expression,” which is such a critical part of the current law. Unfortunately, Faircloth failed to come up with a definition of the elusive term.

MAINE’S MOST LIBERAL NEWSPAPER –
THE PORTLAND PRESS HERALD

A free and independent press is indispensable to the liberty of a free people.  But the press must be impartial as well, since in addition to providing information to the masses, the press exerts an enormous influence on society. As the media have grown, so has their hold over the minds of men.  In the beginning, the media functioned as an impartial provider of news, but then soon became, in the words of Edmund Burke, the “Fourth Estate,” the unelected fourth branch of government.

Now, through the use of sophisticated techniques of persuasion, the media command the hearts and souls of men, exerting a power over society which was formerly the province of religion alone. In conjunction with the popular culture, the media provide the context and the frame of reference for all public discourse.

Each day, the media tell the public not only how it should think on a particular topic, but what it should be thinking about. The mass media possess the greatest power of all, the ability to interpret the world for the masses, and this is essentially a religious function.

From youth onwards the masses are indoctrinated within the public schools to regard the authority of the media as sacrosanct. That is why few of us were willing until recently to question the reliability of the mass media. To do so is a form of heresy, and a total rejection of the organizing principle of our society.

The best the public can hope for from the national media, in the absence of outright fabrication, is a heavy liberal bias, and an attempt to mold public opinion in accordance with a left-wing, secular humanist, and internationalist political agenda.

But which paper in Maine most closely adheres to the liberal agenda? Without question it is the Portland Press Herald. In tone, in content, and in appearance, it is no different from any other newspaper from a major metropolitan area.

The Portland Press Herald was formerly part of Guy Gannett Publishing, which at one time owned seventy-eight daily newspapers, fourteen radio stations, seven television stations, and twenty-one weekly newspapers.  Guy Gannett Publishing also owned WGAN radio, which was sold in 1983, and WGAN TV which became WGME TV. Guy Gannett Publishing was known early on for its diversity. Nearly half of Gannett’s top professionals were women. Past members of its Board of Directors included Rosalynn Carter and Donna Shalala.

The Portland Press Herald was sold in 1998 to the Seattle Times Company. At that time, The Seattle Times Company formed Blethen Maine Newspapers, which includes the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, the Kennebec Journal, and the Morning Sentinel.

Under the editorship of Jeanine Guttman, a graduate of Kent State University in Ohio, the Portland Press Herald has become the most liberal news source in Maine, with a constant emphasis on an urban, internationalist agenda.  Some have commented that the paper reflects the “vibrant urban community” of Portland.

One article which ran this summer was typical. The article praised the efforts of a local community activist who viewed graffiti as “urban art” and planned to buy an abandoned park for the purposes of displaying graffiti. Just this week, in its entertainment section, the paper featured an article which extolled the rock group “Molotov” whose lyrics are so vile they had to be bleeped continuously at a recent awards ceremony.

Of special concern is the treatment given to pro-family leaders in the state. On one occasion, one writer for the Portland Press Herald called Mike Heath, “a Dark Angel.” The coverage of Heath has been abysmally one-sided until recently. Heath and other pro-family leaders are routinely portrayed in the worst possible light.

Our next story on the Portland Press Herald will seek to uncover the reasons why the Portland Press Herald is the most liberal newspaper in the state. The RECORD has submitted a list of questions to the Portland Press Herald asking the reasons for its obvious liberal bias, and its unquestioning support for the gay rights movement in particular.