Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyNovember 17th, 2008
Focus On the Family today announced the elimination of 202 jobs at its Colorado Springs headquarters — 149 through layoffs and another 53 through attrition. This is in addition to another 46 job cuts announced last month to take place in the start of 2009. Altogether, this represents a 20% reduction Focus On the Family’s workforce, bringing the total number of employees down to 950. At its peak, Focus had more than 1,500 employees.
This action comes after Focus On the Family spent nearly $600,000 in cash and non-monetary support to pass Prop 8. Focus was also a major contributor to Arizona’s Prop 102 and Florida’s Amendment 2. Focus board member Elsa Prince contributed an additional $450,000 to prop 8.
Well gee, I guess same-sex marriage really is a threat to some families.
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Buffy
November 17th, 2008
Maybe there really is a god. Or maybe some people are so hateful they’d rather spend themselves out of business trying to harm others than do what they claim to do (support families). Either way it comes down to the same thing.
Ye reap as ye sow.
Dave
November 17th, 2008
Jim,
When the people let go by Focus on the Family find new jobs, are you going to encourage the picketing and boycotting of their new employers?
Patrick
November 17th, 2008
While losing jobs at this time of the year is tough and I have sympathy for those individuals, it couldn’t happen to a more deserving organization.
werdna
November 17th, 2008
It’s terrifying to imagine that there were ever 1,500 FotF employees…
Jason D
November 17th, 2008
I guess they need to raise the price of their (mandatory, non-negotiable) “suggested donations” they collect for their products and services!
David C.
November 17th, 2008
I guess they lost focus distorting all that truth.
It is an interesting irony that the families this organization was created to support had to sacrifice whether they wanted to or not. A million and change would have gone a long way to help real families that will fall on hard times in this economic climate.
Strange ways indeed.
Lynn David
November 17th, 2008
Likely they were told that the sacrifice of their jobs for the payment of $600,000 to the “Yes on H8” campaign was a noble cause for which they will be rewarded in paradise. Or on the unemployment line of our civil authorities.
David
November 18th, 2008
It will be interesting to watch how their employment numbers go after Prop 8 gets tossed. All those prayer dollars right down the toilet.
Do you think I am naive to think that some of those people left because they are out growing their labotomy phase and actually starting to think clear thoughts, of their own creation?
liz
November 18th, 2008
My heart goes out to each of you who find it necessary to put down Focus on the Family. I thought this was the tolerance party…doesn’t sound that way to me. Like it or not it’s Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve. When life is lived outside of God’s design one is miserable. Quite frankly that is what i read in the previous posts, misery, misery, misery, There is a cure: Jesus Christ. Thinking outside yourself and putting others first. Hoping you find truth, for today and tomorrow should God grant each of us another day.
liz w
Jonathan Justice
November 18th, 2008
While it is fun to see FotF shrinking, it is important to see that the trend started before Prop 8. The larger problem is that Dr. D. is getting more and more boring as he looses it. For people wondering about how to solve family life problems, all that talk about the horrible election was really boring. Not unexpectedly, Oprah turned out to be a lot smarter. Organizations not afflicted with FotF’s cheesy board would arrange for him to retire right soon. Compare this to what is happening at Yahoo.
The money spent on California is just not that big a deal. $600,000 is one half of one percent of the c. $120,000,0000 2007 operating budget. If those 200 “positions” being shut down cost FotF only $20,000 a year each, the net effect on the budget would be on the order of $4,000,000. The falling off of the ‘contribution’ stream comes down hardest on the ‘family’ at HQ because the fixed costs of operating that lovely campus and buying all that radio time are much harder to cut. What hurt the cash flow was Dr. D.’s need to assert his political agenda in an environment that wanted to hear quite something else.
I have to wonder that so many positions were already vacant at a company that has already laid off so many people. While I do appreciate that not filling the positions is a common response to falling revenues, the statistic does suggest that some ‘family’ members have jumped ship having concluded that things were going bad and the company’s loyalty to them would prove pretty puny.
Timothy Kincaid
November 18th, 2008
Dear Liz,
I just called Adam and he assured me that he has no intention of leaving Steve for Eve.
I’m sorry if that fact makes you miserable, miserable, miserable.
God Bless,
Timothy
Jason D
November 18th, 2008
“My heart goes out to each of you who find it necessary to put down Focus on the Family. I thought this was the tolerance party…doesn’t sound that way to me.”
Yeah, funny thing, the one thing tolerant people don’t tolerate? INtolerance! This is the Tolerance Party, and so long as you agree to get along, we’re cool. But if you’re like FoF, you come to the party and start insulting and slandering the guests, and saying they should be legally barred from the party — you get shown the door. It’s not hypocrisy, it’s self defense. FoF makes a living off of scaring people about gays, about lying about us, and about attacking us so people will give them more money. You give what you get, and FoF has certainly given a lot of intolerance in it’s time.
“Like it or not it’s Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve.”
What exactly is “it”? Adam and Eve were the first couple, so that means what, ALL legit relationships are based on theirs, exactly? Weren’t they complete idiots before eating fruit they weren’t supposed to eat? So are all couples supposed to be rule-breaking morons? One of Adams ribs was taken to make Eve, do you know any couple that’s made that sort of sacrifice? Wouldn’t that be sorta incestuous anyway? See what problems those sorts of literalistic interpretations lead you?
“When life is lived outside of God’s design one is miserable.”
Well, my gayness must be part of God’s design since I’m not even remotely miserable. Matter of fact, my relationship with my partner has made me happier than I could ever imagine. Guess this must be what God planned for me.
“Quite frankly that is what i read in the previous posts, misery, misery, misery,”
No, hon, I think you’re confusing anger with misery. Does having our equal rights taken away, and having Pharisees like FoF be part of that make us sad? Yes, and that leads to anger, which leads to action. See, funny thing, we’d be happy to stop all our protests and close shop on places like HRC, but we can’t do that because people won’t just leave us alone and let us do our thing. So, we must fight.
“There is a cure: Jesus Christ. Thinking outside yourself and putting others first.”
If anyone at FoF was putting others first they would not have supported forcibly divorcing thousands of couples, taking away constitutionally protected rights from an entire class of people, and sending many children the message that their family is bad.
“Hoping you find truth, for today and tomorrow should God grant each of us another day.
liz w”
And here’s hoping you realize that “take the log out of your own eye before speaking to your brother about the speck in his” applies very much to you, too.
liz
November 18th, 2008
Dear Timothy-
Seeing any organization lay people off is not fun!! Apparently, several people who have posted here think it is fun. Being happy about another organization laying people off is a window to the heart of whats really going on inside. (misery) The public spoke loud and clear- one man one woman. God speaks loud and clear..Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Homosexuality allows us to avoid digging deeper through superficiality and lust inspired attractions. As a result countless miss out on their truest self, their God given Christ self. According to the Bible, homosexuality is a sin just as fornication, stealing, drunkeness, and lying. No sin greater than the next. Love the sinner, but not the sin while helping people change their lives for God’s glory and their improved quality of life, recognizing that to each person God grants free will. I’m thankful we can exchange views without slinging mud and being ugly toward one another. We are both passionate about our positions… i stick with God and his outline for life as found in the Bible. Eternal blessings….liz
liz
November 18th, 2008
Jason- Timothy’s tone was positive and respectful without slinging mud and being ugly. I am not playing that game. sincerely,
liz
Timothy Kincaid
November 18th, 2008
liz,
You are not trying to converse with us, you are trying to preach at us. The unfortunate thing about preaching is that it doesn’t allow for communication or discourse. The listener only has two options, agree or tune out.
Because you are not actually making logical arguments but instead are just throwing up platitudes and catch phrases, there’s nothing to respond to.
one man one woman
Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve
God given Christ self
No sin greater than the next
Love the sinner, but not the sin
for God’s glory
These are just sayings, Liz. They no longer have any meaning that stands on its own. They are about as useful in an discussion as “a stitch in time saves nine” or “waste not, want not”.
You don’t even know what you mean by these sayings any more. You repeat them as though they give you authority, but they are empty and meaningless repetition of sounds.
And if you remove your little catch phrases, Liz, you aren’t saying anything at all. I know you think that you have trumped us with your phrases… but you’ve only succeeded in looking a bit foolish.
I certainly don’t mind exchanging ideas with you, Liz. But make them actual ideas.
Timothy Kincaid
November 18th, 2008
Liz,
Jason’s tone was positive and respectful. He did not sling mud at you.
He challenged your comments and displayed their inability to stand up to inspection.
liz
November 18th, 2008
Timothy- certainly don’t intend to come across as preaching. Thank you for letting me know though. We are just gonna have to agree to disagree .
Eternal blessings
li
Timothy Kincaid
November 18th, 2008
and eternal blessings to you too, Liz
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