The world’s largest retailer, the Wal-Mart department store chain, got both kicks and kudos from pro-family advocates in the U.S. recently. In response to customer pressure, the company announced that it was stopping sales of three men’s magazines – Maxim, Stuff and FHM – and would obscure the covers of several women’s magazine’s – Glamour, MarieClaire,
Cosmopolitan and Redbook – because they often feature sexually explicit material. (A spokesman for Wal-Mart in Canada said the chain has no plans to do the same here.) However, Wal-Mart then turned around and instituted a new, homosexual anti-discrimination policy that includes “sensitivity training.”
In response to lobbying from the Knights of Columbus of Ontario, a Catholic men’s organization, the advisory board of the Arthritis Society has offered assurances that it will consult with the Knights prior to embarking on support for destructive embryonic stem cell research. Such a pledge is seen as a virtual rejection of such support because the Knights will never accept it.
The Walt Disney Co., which has been involved in a number of anti-family initiatives over the years, is continuing to experience financial troubles. The Associated Press reports the corporation is considering the sale of its chain of retail stores in North America and Europe as profits from those stores have been steadily declining. Disney is also reported to be facing “difficult economic challenges” at its theme parks.
Nonetheless, the corporation persists in promoting a homosexual agenda through its ABC television network and Lifetime cable television outlet. Lifetime has aired the several homosexually oriented movies: An Unexpected Love, which follows a women who abandons her husband and children to find fulfillment as a lesbian; Change of Heart, in which a husband tells his wife and children that after 20 years of marriage, he is gay; What Makes a Family, which depicts a lesbian couple raising a baby; and Labour of Love, about a heterosexual woman who asks her male homosexual best friend to be the father of her child. Lifetime has also promoted homosexuality in documentary fashion through its Intimate Portraits series.
Over at ABC, homosexual actor Harvey Fierstein has been signed for a new sitcom in which he will play a woman who is a mom. The program will be produced by homosexuals Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who say: “We’ve always found Disney more than willing to let us present gay stories … Disney is leading the pack.” ABC will also feature the drama Mr. and Mr. Nash – about a pair of crime-solving homosexuals who also happen to be lovers.
Meanwhile, the Florida Family Association filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission about programming shown on television channels partially owned by Disney – Inside the Playboy Mansion, which aired on A&E and the History Channel. FFA president David Caton said Disney airs 41 sexually explicit programs, mainly on its E (Entertainment) Channel.
General Motors’ sale of Hughes Electronics is being hailed as a significant family victory, since Hughes is known as the proprietor of hard-core pornography provider DirecTV.
PayPal, an online financial transaction service owned by eBay, has announced that it will soon stop processing payments for “adult” items and services anywhere on the internet.
Multi-billionaire Warren Buffett has ordered his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to abolish its entire charity program because of boycotts against subsidiaries including the Pampered Chef, Fruit of the Loom and Dairy Queen for Berkshire’s tens of millions of dollars in donations to pro-abortion groups.
Human Life International and Children of God For Life made a presentation at the annual stockholders meeting of the Merck pharmaceutical firm, the third-largest in the world, regarding the company’s unethical use of vaccines cultured in cell lines derived from aborted baby tissue. They are continuing a boycott of Merck products until the company ceases its practices in this area, the details of which can be found at the website: www.cogforlife.org.
A number of Canadian organizations have come under criticism and financial boycott for their support of destructive embryonic stem cell research. Among those known to be in this category are: the Alzheimer Society of Canada; the Canadian Cancer Society; the Parkinson Society of Canada; the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada; the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the ALS Society of Canada and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Sears, Roebuck and Company in the U.S. has given a $200,000 grant to the largest homosexual advocacy organization in the States, the Human Rights Campaign.
Its annual report revealed of those who gave to the liberally oriented People for the American Way organization – which has pushed for abortion, same-sex marriage and explicit sex ed – a surprising number were media-related companies, including the New York Times, Time Inc., CBS, NBC and – there it is again – Walt Disney. Entertainment companies who donated included Dreamworks SKG, Time Warner, the Sony Corporation of America, U.S.A. Networks Inc., Viacom and Warner Brothers Records.
Non-media related donors to PFAW included America Online, the Chase Manhattan Corporation, Random House, Simon and Shuster and Warner Books.
Viacom has transformed the Nashville Network television service to “Spike TV” – “the first network for men,” going the same places as so-called men’s magazines. Features include The 100 Most Irresistible Women and an uncut line of restricted movies. Family-oriented observers are expressing hopes that Spike TV will itself get spiked.
CBS television has come under criticism for airing gruesome violence, foul language and smutty sex scenes in its program CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
The Miller brewing company continued to air an offensive television ad that depicted two women engaged in a catfight over the beer’s best quality, leading to torn clothing and a wrestling scene with only undergarments in wet cement. In a cable version of the ad, the women conclude by suggesting, “Let’s make out.” Eight sequels to the ad were then filmed and aired.
The notorious MacArthur Foundation has donated more than $1 million to “helping reduce maternal mortality in Nigeria” – but the project includes provisions to “make it easier for women to control their reproduction … help improve young people’s reproductive and sexual health … (and) allow (women) to make healthy reproductive choices.” Such terms are generally used as euphemisms for abortion.
Finally, a reminder about some of the sponsors of this past June’s “gay pride” depravities in Toronto (after which complaints were being expressed about the exposure of children to obscene scenes and images): Labatt’s Blue; the Delta Chelsea Hotel; VIA Rail Canada; Showcase Television; Montclair Spring Water; IKEA; Pur Source; Schick; the University of Toronto; and Pizza Pizza.
