Bemoaning the End of Human Sacrifice?

A documentary offered by Amazon Prime and entitled “The Celts,” was given this rather alarming program description: “The Celts were masters of Iron Age Europe. Leaders included King Arthur and Queen Boudicca. Priests called druids practiced human sacrifice. Tragically, their vibrant culture was subjugated by Rome.”

Huh?

Now I know that progressives hate just about everything produced by Western Civilization but really…bemoaning Rome’s ending the Druid’s “vibrant culture” practice of human sacrifice?

Sigh. The progressive yearning for paganism is becoming dumber (and meaner) by the day.

An Abundance of Adoption Stars

Hey, take a quick look at just a few of the people that have profoundly affected
the world who started out as adopted kids. It may just give you a much different, much more appreciative view of adoption.

George Washington Carver; Eleanor Roosevelt; Crazy Horse; Edward Albee; Ingrid Bergman; Jean Jacques Rousseau; Leo Tolstoy; John J. Audubon; Malcolm X; Edgar Allen Poe; Nat King Cole; Marilyn Monroe; Eric Dickerson; Gerald Ford; Aristotle; Daunte Culpepper; Buffy Sainte-Marie; Newt Gingrich; Steven Paul Jobs (co-founder of Apple Computers); Alexander the Great; Art Linkletter; Sen. Robert Byrd; Debbi Harry; James Michener; Tom Monaghan (founder of Domino's Pizza, owner of Detroit Tigers); Langston Hughes; Michael Reagan; Bo Diddley; Lee Majors; Nancy Reagan; Faith Hill; Bill Clinton; Mark Twain; Halle Berry; Dave Thomas; John Lennon; Shari Belafonte-Harper; Faith Daniels; Jesse Jackson; John Hancock; Richard Burton; and Nelson Mandela.

And that's just the beginning! There are thousands and thousands more who have made (and are still making) immensely significant marks on society because of the loving actions of birth parents who kindly relinquished them to adoptive families. Congratulations to everybody involved!

And you say you're interested in just who some of those better known adoptive parents might be? I thought you might. Try out this list for starters:

President Ronald Reagan & Jane Wyman; Babe Ruth; Jerry Lewis; Sen. John McCain; Willie Mays; Charles Bronson & Jill Ireland; Bob Hope; Michael Landon; Walt Disney; Ben Stein; Ed McMahon; Roy Rogers & Dale Evans; Michelle Pfeiffer; George Burns & Gracie Allen; Dan Marino; Harpo Marx; Julie Andrews; Lloyd Bentsen; Hedy Lamarr; Erma Bombeck; Karl Wallenda; Kate Jackson; Kirby Puckett; Eve Arden; Oscar de la Renta; Peter Falk; Bette Davis; Estelle Parsons; Henry Fonda; Magic Johnson; Judy Woodruff; Ted Danson (he is adopted himself); Burt Reynolds & Loni Anderson; Diane Keaton; Angelina Jolie; Pearl Bailey; Jo Beth Williams; George Lucas; Teri Garr; Calista Flockhart; and Patti LaBelle.

Want more adopted parents? How about Stephen Spielberg; John DeLorean; Lou Gosset, Jr.; Art Buchwald; Linda Ronstadt; Kurt Vonnegut; Valerie Harper; Nicole Kidman; Woody Allen; Jamie Lee Curtis; Sen. Jesse Helms; Al Roker; John Denver; Donna Mills; Patty Duke; Paul Newman; Cecil B. De Mille; Kris Kristofferson; Helen Hayes; Sammy Davis, Jr.; Sharon Stone; Sen. Gordon Humphrey; Mia Farrow; Marie Osmond; Connie Chung; Joan Fontaine; Sally Jessy Raphael; Carroll O'Connor; Parker Stevenson; Gloria Swanson; Robert Urich; Alexander the Great; Josephine Baker; Meg Ryan; Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson; Kirk Cameron; Steven Curtis Chapman; and, again, an awful lot more.

Adoption? It's frequently the very best option, the most loving choice that a young mom can make. For it is a wonderful, hopeful investment for a child's life, for a family's warmth and security, and for the flowering of an entire culture.

Banners of Deceit: Part Two

Last week I uploaded here a brief piece about the “lying signs” that adorn the Planned Parenthood abortion business here in Omaha. That post concerned the hypocrisy of Planned Parenthood’s claims to want the input of parents in their children’s decisions about sexual involvement. You can read it right here.

Here’s the sign for today, one that pictures a middle-aged woman with the caption, “Someone you know thinks she might feel a lump in her breast.” The passersby are, of course, led to believe that Planned Parenthood is a source of help for mammograms and other breast cancer screening.

But, contrary to that sign and contrary to the repeated claims from the press, the Democrats, and the mega-abortion corporation itself, it simply doesn’t provide this kind of help!

But don’t just take my word for it. Listen to Planned Parenthood staff themselves. That's the first clip. And then, use the link at the end of this post to hear the truth about Planned Parenthood and mammograms from, of all sources, the Barack Obama administration.





https://townhall.com/columnists/caseymattox/2012/09/07/obama-administration-planned-parenthood-does-not-perform-mammograms-n748379

Banners of Deceit

The huge signs which adorn Planned Parenthood's “Abortion and Sexual Promiscuity Enablement Center” [that’s my title for the place and, truth be told, it’s a title that's a lot more honest than theirs] all feature photos of pretty people emblazoned with captions which seek to sell passersby on what goes on inside the building.

But not only do those captions fail utterly to describe the main business of Planned Parenthood, most of them are outright lies. Over the next few days (beginning again on Monday), I'll share more comments on those banners. But let's begin with this one...

The caption printed across the photograph of a thirty-something man reads, “Someone you know has a hard time talking to his daughter about um, stuff.”  The implication, of course, is that Planned Parenthood is there to help parents effectively communicate with their children about sex.

But the fact is that Planned Parenthood wants parental involvement only if it creates a green light for premarital sexual activity.  Both out of ideological conviction (Margaret Sanger’s and Alfred Kinsey’s abhorrent sexual philosophies still dominate here) and because of Planned Parenthood’s insatiable lust for profits (they want yet more customers for their abortion pills, their poor quality condoms, and eventually for the surgical abortions they commit), the business is delighted with parents who encourage and enable their teenagers’ promiscuity.

However, if those parents want to send anything but the Planned Parenthood message to their kids, the mega-abortion corporation seeks to shut them up completely.  Indeed, no group in the country has fought as hard and as dirty to keep legislatures from passing parental consent, even parental notification laws, than Planned Parenthood.  And no group in the country has done more to severely marginalize parental involvement in sex education.  Whether it’s doing an end run around parents in school sex ed programs, or training kids to keep sexual activity secret from their parents, or even covering up statutory rape as several recent undercover investigations have revealed among Planned Parenthood offices around the country, the corporation doesn’t really want parents to talk about, um, stuff at all. Unless, that is, they get “stuff” from Planned Parenthood.

Again, commentary on other Planned Parenthood banners next week.

Reality Check: The Latest 6-Pack

Here's the latest in our ongoing lists of important reads from exceptional (and critically-needed) alternative media:

* “The Cost of Our Digital Addictions” (Matthew Hennessey, National Review)

* “Watch GOP Sen. Ben Sasse turn the Kavanaugh hearing into Schoolhouse Rock!” (Kathryn Krawczyk, The Week)

* “United Way Defends Funding Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz, It’s ‘Only a Small Number’” (Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com)

* “Why it matters that teens are reading less” (Jean Twenge, Mercator)

* “How Not to Survive as a Faithful Christian Community” (Rick Plasterer, Juicy Ecumenism)

* “Democrats Are Leaving Their Party in Droves. Conservatives Should Pay Attention” (Jeff Walyus, Daily Signal)

What's All the Buzz About?

As we began to set up our equipment and the computer connections for one of last month’s “When Swing Was King” shows, the activities director of the senior care facility came in to greet us.  Beside her was another young woman we had never seen.  “Denny and Claire, this is K——.  She’s my new assistant and she’s been very anxious to meet you two.”

Anxious to meet us?  Why’s that, we asked.  The young girl answered with a smile, “Well, it’s because I’ve heard so much about this program already.  There's been quite a buzz about it all day long. Everyone has been passing the word around and it seems that nobody wants to miss it. I haven’t seen the residents so enthusiastic about anything else we do. So, I just wanted to meet you guys and see what the buzz was all about!”

As you can imagine, hearing that testimony was a great joy and encouragement to us. It always is when we hear such complements about “When Swing Was King." And, thank the Lord, we hear them a lot! For instance, at the end of this particular presentation, I bent over to talk to L——, a nearly blind, oxygen tube-dependent resident who never misses our monthly shows. She had been singing merrily along to the songs while gently swaying to the tunes in her wheelchair. I gave her a little hug and told her how happy she had made me with her obvious enjoyment of the show. In response, she kissed my hand and, through twinkling tears, told me, “Oh, I so love these programs you bring us. The music is wonderful and, even though it’s been so long since I’ve heard them, I seem to remember each one! Thank you so much for doing this for us!”

This summer began (I can hardly believe it) the 9th year of our “When Swing Was King” outreach, a music/pictures/information/friendship ministry that is reaching 240-300 people every month in 11 different senior care facilities. And we are delighted to say that both the programs and the response to them are better than ever. In addition, there have been “spinoff” ministries: the quarterly “When Swing Was King” newsletter that, like the shows themselves, are always presented free of charge; occasional talks like “A Religious History of Omaha;” the occasional donation of large amounts of fresh flowers to the care facilities; and the conversations, prayers, and other fruits of our developing friendships. We are so honored and grateful for the Lord leading us into this unique service.