"The Shortest Hour of the Month"

From a resident: “Your program is the shortest hour in my whole month!  Oh, how I love this music.  And the pictures and stories you tell are so interesting.  Please keep coming back.”

A note from an activities director: “Thank you for the wonderful music programs you do for the residents – ours as well as so many others.  What memories they bring to the folks and every week I see how meaningful that is to them.  It is a lifeline as well as a common bond among them. Enclosed is a ticket for you both to join us here for a meal sometime.  We’d love to have you as our guests!”

Also from an activities director: “You guys have no idea how much our residents love you two and they appreciate so much all the time you put in to making these different music programs for them.  They refer to you all month long.”

From a resident who almost didn’t stay for the program: “Wow.  Am I glad I stuck around for this.  It was great.. Will you make sure they come and get me the next time you come?”

Our schedule for "When Swing Was King" just continues to expand. Just last week, for example, we were invited to three new facilities! Please pray that we can keep up with the requests -- and with everything else we have to do!

Is Your Drug Store Selling Sex Toys?

Aspirin? Check. Hot water bottle? Check? Candy bar? Check.

Marital (and extra-marital) sex aids? Huh?

A friend who works in the medical field recently sent over an alert about Walgreens being in the sex toy business. It seems he was at the online page for Walgreens and had typed in "otoscopes for sale." Now I'm a humanities guy and had no idea what an otoscope was but he explained it's one of those devices a doctor or nurse uses to look in your ear. Anyhow, in response to his search, the Walgreens site did pop up with a page showing a couple different otoscopes -- but which first showed at the top of the page14 types of sexual lubricants, including at least one specifically described for use in an unnatural, dangerous sexual activity.

That's right. Walgreens.

Indeed, it turns out that Walgreens has gone into the sex trade pretty strong, peddling hundreds of sex items from its web site -- items ranging from lubricants, sex toys (some quite bizarre), whips, "positional furniture," flavored condoms, masturbation aids, edible underwear, and the devil knows (pun fully intended) what else.

We have decided to forego shopping at Walgreens from now on. And, for that matter, we won't be shopping at CVS either. I checked their website too and, though it was not nearly as unnatural and offensive as Walgreen's, we really don't want our pharmacy to be a competitor of Lecherous Lenny's Lust Planet.

From now on, it's Baker's supermarket only.

I sent along a letter to both companies informing them of our decision. I urge you to do the same.

Dispatches from the Culture Wars

Online Poker Cheats

U.S. prosecutors made new allegations on Tuesday in a probe of the Full Tilt Poker website, accusing self-styled "Poker Professor" Howard Lederer and professional poker champion Christopher Ferguson and others of paying themselves more than $440 million while defrauding other players.

In a motion filed in federal court in New York to amend an earlier civil complaint, the prosecutors accused Full Tilt Poker of running a Ponzi scheme that continued even after the original charges were filed...

John Lehman: U.S. Navy Weakened by Thought Police

The Navy’s former top civilian has rocked the service in a military journal article by accusing officials of sinking the storied naval air branch into a sea of political correctness. Former Navy Secretary John Lehman, himself a former carrier-based aviator, wrote that the swagger and daring of yesterday’s culture has given way to a focus on integrating women and, this year, gays.

Pilots constantly worry about anonymous complaints about salty language, while squadron commanders are awash in bureaucratic requirements for reports and statistics, he added.

“Those attributes of naval aviators — willingness to take intelligent calculated risk, self-confidence, even a certain swagger — that are invaluable in wartime are the very ones that make them particularly vulnerable in today’s zero-tolerance Navy,” said Mr. Lehman, who led the Navy in the Reagan administration.“The political correctness thought police, like Inspector Javert in ‘Les Miserables,’ are out to get them and are relentless.”...

Google Refuses to Police Their Service

A Google search for Santorum has generated some inappropriate results since gay columnist Dan Savage organized an online campaign to link graphic sexual terms to the socially conservative senator’s name.

Now, the Republican presidential candidate says he’s convinced Google could do something to remedy the issue, if the company wanted to. “I suspect if something was up there like that about Joe Biden, they’d get rid of it,” Santorum said. “If you're a responsible business, you don't let things like that happen in your business that have an impact on the country.”

He continued: “To have a business allow that type of filth to be purveyed through their website or through their system is something that they say they can't handle but I suspect that's not true.”...


Warner Todd Huston Calls Out Our Narcissist in Chief

Back on Sept. 20, President Obama stood with the folks from the Open Government Partnership to get a group photo taken. But, even in a photo of over a dozen folks, as far as Obama was concerned it was all about Obama.

There he is, calling attention to himself like a ten-year-old on the carousel trying to get the attention of mommy and daddy.

Worse, he’s covering up one of the participant’s face! How gauche.

Even MSNBCs Rich Shulman couldn’t take the self-centered, arrogance of our president. Under the photo, Shulman wrote, “I don’t know much about diplomatic protocols, but I would guess that waving during the group photo is something to avoid.”

That’s our narcissist in chief!

Bonehead Tony Bennett

I've long believed that the public acclaim given Tony Bennett is due more to his left-leaning politics than his singing abilities. After all, there's a whole lot of crooners who had purer, more powerful, more disciplined voices than Bennett but, because they were further to the right, have been given shorter shrift from the powers that be. (Andy Williams, Perry Como, Johnny Mathis, and Sammy Davis Jr. come to mind.)

Anyhow, to illustrate how far Bennett's leftist tilt goes, here's a clip from his appearance on the Howard Stern show where he not only tells a whopper of a lie about George W. Bush but then justifies the 9/11 jihadist attacks. "But who are the terrorists? Are we the terrorists or are they the terrorists?...They flew the plane in but we caused it."

The Providential History Festival: It's Not Just for the Reformed!

The photo at left shows last weekend's Vital Signs Ministries literature table wonderfully placed under the wing of a World War II-era B-29 which rests in the Strategic Air and Space Museum's Restoration Room awaiting a new paint job. Claire and I were there for the 6th annual Providential History Festival created and sponsored by Biblical Blueprints. We enjoyed a spiritually adventurous two days listening to presentations by Dr. Marshall Foster, stirring speeches from home school students (and others) and music from a family "bluegrass gospel" group, the Wintons.

The Festival is growing larger and better every year, particularly with the addition of a special speaker on the schedule like Dr. Foster to elevate the intellectual value of the event. The amateur speeches and dramas have been quite good the last two years we have attended (I was always traveling outside the country the first few Festivals) and we have been not only informed and encouraged but inspired by them. But the inclusion of a notable professional (Next year will be Dr. E. Calvin Beisner) makes for a better and more engaging program still.

The attendees of the Festival have largely been drawn from the Reformed Reconstruction tradition which, as many of you know, Claire and I are not attached to. However, the event rightly deserves a much broader audience for the theme of providential history is extremely relevant and compelling to all Christians. And, make no mistake, the organizers of the Festival are keen to make the event welcoming, interesting and helpful to all. For example, among the booths that were invited to the Festival were Reformed groups like Biblical Blueprints, Dominion Covenant Church and others but also several groups with a more general range: Alliance Defense Fund, Bott Radio, Capitol Ministries, Voice of the Martyrs, Samaritan Ministries (an intriguing alternative to insurance plans) and Vital Signs.

No, the desire of the Festival organizers is to provide inspiration (as well as ongoing educational materials) to any and all believers who are looking to develop a thoroughly biblical worldview. They are thus providing a service that should be warmly embraced by the general Christian community in Omaha, Lincoln and surrounding areas. Come along next year and see for yourself.  The event is very well-organized; it is wholesome and family-friendly; the food is terrific; the costs are low; and the setting (that amazing Restoration Room of the SASM) is just superb. The Providential History Festival has become one of the highlights of our year. And I think it might become one of yours as well.

I'll keep you informed about the details of next year's program...including the opportunity to register early and save a lot in doing so.

The Best Cities in America? Hardly.

We are told that the folks over at Bloomberg Businessweek "spent months working with data" in their quest to identify the best cities in the United States. But the information they used (they called it "positive metrics") vs what extremely pertinent information they ignored altogether ended up making Businessweek's list of best cities almost laughable.

For instance, the group considered the presence of restaurants, bars and pro sports teams (even celebrity presence) of particular importance while inexplicably downgrading such traditional quality of life points as cost of living, climate, transportation, and crime. Tax rates and the freedom of citizens from government harassment didn't figure in their considerations at all.

The result was a bizarre list indeed, one which was unusual enough to make Yahoo's news headlines. But heaven forbid anyone considering a change of domicile to take the list seriously.

I mean, Washington, D.C. as one of the best 10 cities in the country? Yeah, just ignore those minor details like climate, a horrific crime rate, lousy schools, and the regular ensnarement of both traffic and overactive bureaucrats.

And its suburb Arlington, Virginia? It makes the list too because, after all, "The area is highly educated, with more than two-thirds of the population holding a college degree." Hmm. For some reason, Businessweek is very impressed with this factor. That was what helped put Scottsdale, Arizona (despite its proximity to Phoenix and its astronomical rate of foreclosures) and the cities of Irvine, San Diego and San Francisco, California (despite their bending under the weight of California's corrupt and inefficient Nanny State government) on the list.

Other cities that made the list that clearly wouldn't have if traditional, common sense factors had been evaluated were Pittsburgh, New York and Oakland.

Lincoln and Omaha, by the way, landed at #22 and #34, respectively.

Today's Posts

What To Do With a Proud Pastor?

UK Conservative MP -- Churches Should Be Forced to Conduct Homosexual Marriages

Gibson Guitar Boss Playing an Anti-Obama Tune

Eric Holder -- Lying Doesn't Bother Him a Bit

Delciously Dolce

What To Do With a Proud Pastor?

"My sense is that many of the celebrity religious leaders are well aware of and intentionally attempt to guard themselves against sexual and financial temptations," said Scott Thumma, a Hartford Seminary sociologist who studies megachurches. "But they forget that pride comes before a fall."

"I could imagine neo-Reformed preachers and theologians emphasizing a theology that stresses election and predestination and implies a 'seriousness' about rigorous theological contemplation, leading to an attitude of religious superiority that would suppress abuse of sex and money but compound a sense of pride and elitism," Thumma said. "However, it is to the credit of C. J., John Piper, and others to recognize this and remove themselves—or be willing to be removed—for a time of reflection and spiritual introspection."

The comments above I found in a Bobby Ross article in Christianity Today, "Sex, Money ... Pride? Why Pastors Are Stepping Down." I must admit this was all new to me. I've heard of the guys mentioned in the piece (C.J. Mahaney, John Piper, Joshua Harris, Larry Tomczak) but, beyond them being from Reformed convictions (which I'm not), I didn't know anything about them. I'm afraid I do not pay close attention to what megachurches or even denominations are doing.

But the article certainly was disturbing. I mean, pride can corrupt anyone, no matter your personality, the religious tradition you follow, the vocation you've embraced. But pride in ministry leadership ministry is lethal. And therefore, completely unacceptable. The Scriptures are as clear as can be on this matter. They make equally clear that virtues of humility, integrity, and servant-orientation in church leaders are to be carefully overseen by other spiritually mature elders.
Reading Michelle Boorstein's article in the Washington Post (which is where I found the link to Ross' CT story) makes me wonder if Mahaney's role at least hasn't been hopelessly compromised already.

When C.J. Mahaney took a leave of absence this summer from the helm of his 100-church denomination, saying he was guilty of “various expressions of pride,” conservative evangelicals nationwide took notice.

A college dropout who was once a hard-core partier, Mahaney went on to become one of the most-recognized and popular faces of neo-Calvinism, which teaches that man is lowly, sinful and in desperate need of spiritual oversight. Mahaney, with his perma-grin, distinctively casual style (shaved head, no jackets), and successful books and conferences, put a happy, hip face on the idea of discipline.

But inside his Gaithersburg-based Sovereign Grace Ministries movement, there was a growing sense that things had gone too far. Former church members said Mahaney had created something they thought was more like a cult.

His leave came days after a former top Sovereign Grace pastor distributed hundreds of pages of e-mails and internal church documents that portrayed Mahaney as fixated on the sins of everyone below him, particularly critics. The documents, which included discussions among the pastors, showed Mahaney and others threatening the movement’s co-founder, saying they would make private family details public if the man were too openly critical of Sovereign Grace as he left...

The problems that this article refers to should never have gone this far. The other leaders should have stepped in to prevent it, to check it when it first appeared and to enact appropriate discipline if the offending party wouldn't submit to correction. Even now, it appears that the elders may be too lax in dealing with the problem. Is, for instance, a lengthy vacation an appropriate way to deal with a pastor's serious sin? Is it just a matter of him getting some rest, recreation and reflection before returning to lead the flock?

Or will his reputation (and thus, his moral authority and trustworthiness) be forever injured by his previous acts of self-serving arrogance? Might such sin disqualify him, not for membership in Christ's Body and not even in spiritual service, but for a position of pastoral leadership?

James 4:6 explains that "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble." That means that the proud man cannot be a co-worker in God's vineyard. They can't work together who are working against each other. However, the grace God offers to sinners is available in full to all, including the proud and stiff-necked who recognize their sin and repent of it. Restoration of relationship. Joy. Freedom of conscience.

But do certain sins disqualify someone from church leadership due to the effects they've left on his public reputation, on the capability of people to trust him wholeheartedly? I think so. I would, therefore, urge the elders of churches, denominations and religious organizations to be very wary about trying to correct proud pastors by giving them paid sabbaticals in the mountains. And I would urge them to think twice before reinstating them into public leadership.

UK Conservative MP -- Churches Should Be Forced to Conduct Homosexual Marriages

A member of U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron’s government is calling for a ban on marriages at Christian churches if they refuse to also perform same-sex unions.

“As long as religious groups can refuse to preside over ceremonies for same-sex couples, there will be inequality,” wrote Mike Weatherley, the Conservative MP for Hove and Portslade, in an August 21 letter to Cameron.

While Weatherley’s proposal is currently a “minority view,” it “could quickly become a main stream point of view,” warned Neil Addison, national director of the U.K.‘s Thomas More Legal Centre.

The U.K.‘s 2004 Civil Partnership Act, which legalized same-sex unions, forbade them from being performed in religious venues or from using religious imagery...

“Looking back, I am sure that you would agree that it was nothing less than bizarre that same-sex couples were barred from holding their Civil Partnership ceremonies in religious venues,” he tells the Prime Minister.

“I suggest that it makes little difference if unions are called Marriages, Civil Partnerships or some other term (such as simply ‘Unions’),” he writes. “Until we untangle unions and religion in this country, we will struggle to find a fair arrangement.”

Addison said that when the same-sex civil partnerships were first introduced, “those who said that Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, etc. would eventually be forced to perform same sex marriages were ridiculed as being alarmist, but it is now a point of view that is becoming dangerously mainstream.”

“Our political debate seems unable to comprehend the point that defending freedom is as important as promoting equality,” he added.

“What Mike Weatherley MP is now proposing completely ignores the idea of tolerance and balance and would end up forcing religious believers to first of all have a legal civil marriage ceremony followed by a non legal religious ceremony,” he said.  “The present system is based on tolerance and tolerance is something Mr Weatherley clearly does not understand.”
Bishop Kieran Conry of Arundel and Brighton, whose diocese includes Weatherley’s riding, told the Catholic Herald that the MP is “over-stepping the mark.”

“The Church is a voluntary organisation and if you belong to it then you abide by its rules,” he said.  “The law in this country recognises that there is no parity between civil partnerships and marriage. … What he wants is a change in the law because he is not in a position to tell the Catholic Church what to do.”

(Patrick B. Craine, LifeSiteNews)

Gibson Guitar Boss Playing an Anti-Obama Tune

Remember these previous Vital Signs posts -- Obama Administration Raids American Company on American Soil -- For Breaking Foreign Law! (August 26) and The Plot Thickens: Gibson Guitars vs The Nanny State (August 29)?

Well, the story isn't going away. Indeed, thanks to the bold, principled efforts of Gibson Guitar's chief exec, Henry Juszkiewicz, and a bit of help from Republicans like Marsha Blackburn and John Boehner, the fight against the unconstitutional, anti-business actions of the Obama administration is heating up nicely.

The chief executive of Gibson Guitar Corp., which has been the target of two federal raids in the past two years over the exotic wood it uses to make the instruments, said Thursday he wants Obama to show some concern for the nation’s job creators.

“It’s not easy to compete on a global basis,” Gibson's Henry Juszkiewicz told Fox News. “We’re competing with Chinese, European companies. We’d like to feel like we’re respected and help create jobs.”

Juszkiewicz was House Speaker John Boehner’s guest at Obama’s speech before a joint session of Congress on Thursday night, in which he unveiled a $447 billion plan to jumpstart the weak economy. Boehner's invitation to Juszkiewicz was a shot across the bow to the president, whose agenda of regulations and new taxes is seen by critics as anti-business.

Federal agents first raided the Nashville company in 2009 over suspect wood shipments from Madagascar. Gibson took that case to court but has denounced the administration with a vengeance after agents returned late last month to raid several Gibson factories -- this time out of concern that Indian export laws had been violated...

On Thursday, he said his company’s track record of hiring Americans – 580 in the last two years – is now in jeopardy at a time when the economy can least afford it.

Here's a few other relevant stories: 1, 2, 3, and 4. And right here is where you can go to "Like" the Facebook page of Support Gibson Guitars.

Eric Holder -- Lying Doesn't Bother Him a Bit

From the "How Can They Say These Things With a Straight Face?" Department comes this brazen baloney from Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General. In defense of the DOJ's anti-business (and quite) unconstitutional attacks on the Gibson Guitar Company, Holder said, "The actions that we take in all matters, are based on the facts, the law, and the enforcement responsibilities that we have. We have no politics involved. That's not how we make decisions in this department."

Oh no. No politics involved in the Gibson case. Nor in the refusal to defend the Defense of Marriage Act. Nor in the voter intimidation cover up. Nor in the refusal to obey the law and drill for oil. Nor in the harassment of pro-life protestors and pregnancy help clinics. Nor in the lawsuits against states trying to curb illegal immigration. Nor in the denial of religious freedom rights to Christians. Nor in the numerous anti-business actions where phony environmental concerns trump the needs of the citizenry. Nor in the refusal to investigate and prosecute ACORN and other voter fraud.

"We have no politics involved. That's not how we make decisions in this department."

At least Bill Clinton tried to be affable and unassuming when he lied to the American public. These guys just lay it out there -- arrogantly, defiantly and downright disdainful of the public. They lie and they don't give a rip that people know they're lying. For the liars of the Barack Obama administration are more than mere dissemblers; they are destroyers -- deliberately destroying truth, the rule of law and our democratic way of life.

God save us from such villains.

Delciously Dolce

I was looking forward to spending an early dinner with Claire at a new restaurant in our area of town, a cafe and cake decorating shop started by a pro-life friend of ours from way back, Gina Sterns. But I wasn't expecting to be so impressed that I'd be writing my first ever restaurant review. But here I am doing just that.

The place is Dolce Cafe at 12317 West Maple Road. It's only been open for a little over a month and it's not the easiest place to find. It's actually off Maple in a strip mall that is just south of the main street. It faces Maple but you've got to come in from the other side (i.e., 124th to Emmet and then back behind the building to the north side.)

But it's more than worth the trouble. It's a nifty little spot for a delicious, very affordable meal in a sophisticated, uncrowded atmosphere. The menu, created by classically trained chefs (including Gina herself) is strong on organic, local sources and includes such tasty, healthy dishes as a Goat Cheese Chicken Panini, Zucchini and Asparagus Salad, and dinner specials. Claire and I opted for the Gourmet Mac n' Cheese ($6.95) and Gina's Meatball Panini ($8.95). Both dishes were terrific. The Mac n' Cheese was made with mild cheddar and penne pasta. It was lightly seasoned and not overly heavy on the sauce as is so often the case. The meatball sandwich was great with a delicious rosemary focaccia bread and what may be the best marinara sauce I've ever had. Both were served in a plentiful portion.

Gina firmly believes in an 80/20 rule when it comes to nutrition. By that, she means that if you eat nutritiously and well 80% of the time, you're okay to take the rest in richer fare -- like fabulous deserts. And at Dolce, that means Gina's superb cakes. We sampled those too tonight. Claire's slice of carrot cake was large, nutty, raisiny and topped with a butter cream frosting that she loved. I went with the white cupcakes made with almond and sour cream. Wow.

And did I mention the house red (Garofoli "Antica Osteria" Rosso) and the LaRue coffee were wonderful too? They were. As was the atmosphere -- light jazz playing very quietly in the background, a clean and lovely decor (which includes a few of Gina's decorated wedding cakes on the sideboard), and an attentive, friendly waitress. It was a perfect place for Claire's birthday dinner but we are already planning on making Dolce a regular hangout.

Gina is there quite a bit as is her Mom. And at what other restaurant might you find your evening meal order taken by one of the Midwest's most respected electro-cardiologists? That would be Gina's husband, Dave.

In case you can't tell yet, Claire and I are recommending Dolce Cafe with plenty of confidence and enthusiasm. So, why not try it sometime soon? They are open from 11-10 with special dinner entrees available beginning at 6. Tell them when you go that Denny and Claire sent you. And who knows, we may well be there to join you!

(FYI -- "Dolce" is an Italian word which can mean sweet, soft, savory or mellow. It is from the Latin word "dulcis" from where we have derived "dulcet," a neat word which carries similar meanings as in "The audience would long remember the dulcet tones of Tommy Dorsey's trombone.")

Today's Posts

Perry & Thrust: Quick Takes on the Republican Debate

Heroes

Hollywood's Shameful Response to 9/11

Any Day Is a Good Day to Thank a Vet

Talking About Sterilization, Birth Control, & Family Life

Pro-Life Activism for the Young (And Those Who Can Keep Up With Them!)

Bully Alert: Planned Parenthood and Democrats Gang Up On the Poor & Sick

 

 

Perry & Thrust: Quick Takes on the Republican Debate

Not surprisingly, the mainstream press is touting Mitt Romney as the winner of last night's Republican debate. After all, he is the "moderate" with the Brylcreem hair that they want to win the nomination. And they'll dutifully carry his water up until then. After that, forget about it. They'll go back to savaging him in order to assure Barack Obama's re-election.

But according to conservatives and, more important, the responses of independents who watched the debate, the clear winner was Rick Perry.

Smart, confident, affable and unapologetic -- Perry scored a big win, almost immediately banishing the others to the "Who Might Make a Good VP" list. Well, Romney won't make that list. Or Ron Paul. Or Herman Cain. Or John Huntsman. My guess is that the list is only two: Michelle Bachman and Rick Santorum. With room for a few more who weren't there last night. Like Sarah Palin, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan or, as a baseball managers would put it, a player to be named later.

Anyhow, don't waste too much time reading the pundits' overworked analysis of the debate. They mostly saw what they wanted to see and made up the rest. Go instead for the short and sweet approach, such as looking at the best of Andrew Malcolm's (LA Times) "quick take-aways" from last night's debate:

BIGGEST WINNERS: Rick Perry, who did much better than not bomb, and Mitt Romney, who looked presidential again and magnanimous.

BIGGEST LOSER: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who wasn't there, but will learn this morning that he'll be joining the 14 million unemployed if virtually any of these Republicans get to the White House.

MOST ELOQUENT: Newt Gingrich warning moderators probing for differences among the eight Republicans that any minor distinctions pale in comparison to their unity over defeating Barack Obama.

LOUDEST APPLAUSE: See Most Eloquent.

WARMEST FAMILY MENTION: Michele Bachmann, as message-disciplined as ever on Obama killing jobs, also recalling raising five biological and 23 foster children.

BEST FINANCIAL TIP IF THE GOP WINS NEXT YEAR: Buy stock in border fence companies.

MOST UNEXPECTED APPLAUSE-GETTER: NBC's Brian Williams asking Perry about Texas executing 234 convicted murderers.

BEST FIVE-WORD ANSWER: Perry asked to explain that applause: "I think Americans understand justice."

WEIRDEST SUGGESTED ECONOMY MOVE: Ron Paul's idea to save billions by bringing home air conditioners cooling troop tents in Afghanistan.

Hollywood's Shameful Response to 9/11

Hollywood’s lockstep leftist filmmakers have long busied themselves with a range of shameful enterprises. They have peddled and celebrated a wholly distorted and negative vision of American manners in dishonest films epitomized by American Beauty (1999). They have sold the self-contradicting nonsense of moral relativism in films such as The Reader (2008). They have routinely depicted the U.S. government and U.S. corporations as bad actors in world events, as in The Bourne Ultimatum. And—in what some observers consider a conscious scheme by a likeminded filmland clique—they have maintained a small but steady effort to normalize the sexual abuse of children in films like Little Children, The Woodsman, Towelhead, and more.

But when it comes to sheer shamefulness, the conformist “radicals” of Hollywood outdid themselves in the years after the Islamofascist attacks on 9/11. When the United States responded to these atrocities by attempting to destroy the terrorist staging grounds in Afghanistan and establish a beachhead of Middle Eastern democracy in Iraq, Hollywood reacted by churning out propaganda movies that could only demoralize our allies and bolster our low and savage enemies: Syriana, In the Valley of Elah, Rendition, Redacted, Lions for Lambs, Green Zone, Body of Lies, Stop Loss, and on and on. Many of these films portrayed our soldiers and intelligence officers as rapists, murderers, torturers, or noble fools manipulated by conniving Republicans. Not one of them (including the excellent HBO film Taking Chance and the flawed but powerful Hurt Locker, which at least showed our troops in a positive light) depicted the wars themselves as good or noble endeavors. Besides Chance and Locker, these films were bad and they were bombs, showing that ideology, not art or commerce, dictated their content. It was the dark mirror image of Hollywood’s patriotic response to Pearl Harbor in the 1940s, a living diagram of what the Left has wrought in our cultural lives since then...

Wow. Read the rest of novelist Andrew Klavan's cogent essay, "When Hollywood Hit Rock Bottom," over at City Journal. It's a great piece to pass around.

Any Day Is a Good Day to Thank a Vet

 

"Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him." (Dwight D. Eisenhower)

Talking About Sterilization, Birth Control, & Family Life

The following letter was written to a friend who had asked me about family planning and sterilization. They live in another country and were getting ready to welcome their next child into the world. But they were facing pressures from doctors and others about sterilization and wanted to hear my advice about these matters. I sent the letter this morning by internet and received a quick reply in which he encouraged me to publish the letter for others to read. "Denny, I do think it would be a very valuable counsel to many-many-many people in _________. And in America too. I really appreciate your answer. It is quite authoritative..."

So, here it is.

Dear R............

Regarding your questions about family planning, let me say at the beginning that making decisions about possible pregnancies certainly should NOT be made when you’re experiencing those last uncomfortable, tense and sometimes agonizing weeks of pregnancy. Such decisions should be made when you can look at things more objectively and without time pressure. So be careful as to when you make such decisions.

Make sure you’ve considered every angle, taken in the wisest counsel, and had plenty of unpressed prayer. Also make sure you’re not making a decision based on someone else’s opinion or timetable. Beware too of doubting God’s sufficiency or His wisdom. Investigate honestly and as thoroughly as you can your motivations. Keep things in the proper perspective – and that means remembering that all aspects of our life must be under His Lordship.

I may be wrong but your questions certainly seem to reveal some doubts about sterilization. For instance, you admit that the “pressure” is coming especially from “secular” doctors. You mention your wife has a “big trouble with it." Be sure and look ahead to what "big troubles" she might have after taking such a permanent action. And you’re honest (and wise) enough to be concerned about testing God as opposed to passing the tests He gives to us – including the challenges of raising a large family.

Remember too, my dear friend, that raising a large family represents a large blessing too. The Scriptures teach (in many places) the honor and pleasure and spiritual rewards that go to parents of children. And beyond your personal blessing, your faithfulness in the ministry of parenthood is a tremendous blessing to the cause of Christ that will keep on reaping rewards long after you guys have left the scene. Yes, I know the Church doesn’t recognize this as it should but there is no ministry on earth as honorable, as visionary and as critical as faithful parenthood. It is the crown of all of your service for the Lord Jesus.

With these things said, let me now say that I do have substantial problems with sterilization, especially those that are performed for a perceived convenience. This conviction is based on the Bible’s teaching about the blessings of children and the sanctity of family life. But I must admit, it’s also due to my life being so enriched by people who happened to come along at number 6, 7, 8, 9 and even 12 in their family!

Also sterilization is such an unnatural act and, as I suggested earlier, oh-so-permanent. I’ve known of so many people who have made decisions of this sort (tubal ligation and vasectomy) and then repented of those decisions later in life – sometimes only months afterward. There are actions of spacing children that are not permanent – and which do not in any way pose a danger of aborting a child conceived through breakthrough ovulation. And alas, every birth control drug and every I.U.D.-type of device does contain at least the potential for acting post-conception. Those are to be strictly avoided by God’s people. (You can read more about this subject at Vital Signs Ministries’ web site.)

In summation then, I encourage you guys to go slow in making the decision and to be unswayed by any ignoble pressures. Keep the Lordship of Christ as your priority. Remember God’s great pleasure in your ministry as godly parents – as well as the marvelous rewards you’ll enjoy for all eternity for a faithful stewardship of that ministry.

And, one more thing, remember the joy and pride and sheer fun all the other kids have brought into your life. Yes, children bring tears and worry, frustration and disappointment too. And if the Lord has other children in your future, they will bring more of the same things. Wonderful highs and anxious lows – such is life on this fallen planet. All we can do is receive with gratitude all He has for us and invest our lives wisely for the rewards of the other side, the forever side of life with God.

I write in humility and love and deep appreciation for you both.

Denny

Pro-Life Activism for the Young (And Those Who Can Keep Up With Them!)

Jennie Stone is nearing graduation at Texas A&M University. But her experience in pro-life activism is already rich and compelling. For example, she started a pro-life club at her high school when she was only 16. She has worked with Heroic Media, Texas Alliance for Life and served on a sidewalk counseling team. So when Jennie shares a few tips on why and how young Christians can engage in effective pro-life ministry, she's really worth listening to.

Check out what I mean:

I heard it all the time in high school, and I hear it from younger students all the time now:  “I’m pro-life, but I can’t vote yet.”  My immediate response is… so what!

Voting for pro-life candidates is but a fraction of our responsibilities as pro-lifers.  Young people are vital to the movement because we represent the future, and there is so much more to our activism than simply voting pro-life when election seasons come around.  We need middle and high school students standing up and being a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.  Don’t ever think that being too young to vote hinders you from educating others, helping pregnant women in need, or possibly saving a life...

So what can a middle or high-school age student do?  The list below consists of just a few ideas that students can do to spread awareness about abortion, even if they’re unable to vote...

Read that list at the Live Action site right here.

Bully Alert: Planned Parenthood and Democrats Gang Up On the Poor & Sick

Planned Parenthood, the mega-abortion corporation that makes hundreds of millions of dollars every year and yet still receives millions more from American taxpayers, has a political machine that is incredibly powerful. And the abortion zealots that Planned Parenthood boosts into office are so determined to keep that tax money flowing, they are willing to cut Medicare, cut poverty relief, even shut down the government altogether. This is a recurring nightmare from which America must wake up.

Watch the clip below and then forward it to your Congressman, your pastor and your Uncle Louie. I'm serious.

Today's Posts

Share the Wealth? Planned Parenthood Is Getting Richer Off Of You.

Your Letter Does Make a Difference

Liberal Angst: Driven by the Furies

David Limbaugh Is On His Way to Nebraska

Barack Obama's Abortion Absolutism

Share the Wealth? Planned Parenthood Is Getting Richer Off Of You.

Okay, let's run by a few very important facts:

1) Planned Parenthood kills preborn babies for profit. Hundreds of thousands of babies. And by payments to surgical abortionists and sales of chemical abortifacients, Planned Parenthood is raking in millions of dollars every year. They are the largest abortion providing, abortion promoting business in the world.

2) Planned Parenthood is the most aggressive promoter of abortion rights in the U.S. and abroad. It's influence in Congress, the United Nations, in state governments, in social service agencies, and among government educators is huge.

3) Planned Parenthood promotes (and enables) sexual promiscuity, even among very young teenagers.

4) Planned Parenthood promotes sexual perversion and does so with obscene and blasphemous materials.

5) Planned Parenthood holds firm to the racism and elitism of its eugenics founders.

6) Planned Parenthood has been caught on many occasions in criminal cover-ups of statutory rape.

7) Planned Parenthood operates many unsafe, unsanitary abortion clinics. It has had several abortionists who have killed adult women through botched abortion. It dispenses very dangerous abortifacient drugs in an unprofessional manner like over the phone and through "at home abortion kits." It works continually against parental rights and control. It works continually against any and all limitations on abortion.

And, oh yeah...Number 8) Planned Parenthood makes about $100,000,000 every year from American taxpayers.

Here, from LifeNews.com, are the details taken from a government report.

A new Government Accountability Office report shows the Planned Parenthood abortion business reported spending over $650 million in federal funds over a seven year period. That averages to just under $100 million in federal funds each year...

The new 33-page report concerns how much federal money the Planned Parenthood Federation of America is receiving and from what sources -- with most of the funds coming from the Title X family planning program.

Combining the money received from the Health and Human Services department and USAID, the GAO report indicates Planned Parenthood received $657.1 million in federal funds.

The report also shows the pro-abortion group Population Council received $284.3 million in federal funds as well for its international family planning efforts. And the Guttmacher institute, a pro-abortion group that does research on abortion statistics, received $12.7 million. Advocates for Youth, another pro-abortion group, received $8.7 million from the federal government and the International Planned Parenthood Federation received $3.9 million.

Combined, the pro-abortion organizations received more than $1 billion in taxpayer dollars from the federal government over the 2002-2009 period GAO analyzed...

So are you ready to finally start writing and calling your Congressmen and Senators about this outrage?

Good!

You can use the search box in the upper left hand corner of this page to "season" your letters with relevant facts. Just type in "Planned Parenthood" and then hit the little magnifying glass. But, to be honest, your letter or call will pack a punch even if you simply say you're sick and tired of seeing government waste your money, let alone use it to enlarge yet further the coffers of such an offensive, immoral and violent business.

Use this page for contact info. And then get busy. Get your friends involved. Pass the word. Write letters to editors. With politicians, use the once-a-month rule and let these folks know how serious you are about their responsibility to start de-funding Planned Parenthood ASAP.

Your Letter Does Make a Difference

Regular visitors to Vital Signs Blog know I frequently pass along action alerts designed to get you involved in grassroots advocacy. In those posts I describe what's happening, why your response is valuable, contact information, and sometimes even show you a sample letter.

Why? 1) I'm convinced that "shining" is a lot more responsible than just "whining." It's healthier too!

2) Letter-writers become more informed, more alert, and more eager to pass the word along in other venues too.

and 3) Letters actually work!

These are the reasons that one of Vital Signs Ministries' first activities (way back in 1983) was the beginning of P.A.L. Nights, regularly scheduled meetings where we would spend a short time of prayer together and then, while we kept the coffee and tea hot, we wrote letters.

Vital Signs carries on this tradition to this day. And we've stimulated individual churches and Sunday School classes to join in the fun. Why? Because letters work.

But don't just take my word for it. Give a listen to this interesting 5-minute lecture by business entrepreneur and politician Omar Ahmad. If you find it motivational -- and you will -- then print off this helpful letter-writing primer and get started making a difference.

Liberal Angst: Driven by the Furies

"I hate George Bush," wrote Jonathan Chait in 2003. "I hate the way he walks ... I hate the way he talks ... I have friends who have a viscerally hostile reaction to the sound of his voice, or describe his existence as a constant oppressive force" in their lives. Some came to this hate at an earlier moment: "When my friends and I looked at George W. Bush in 1999," writes Michael Tomasky, "We shuddered like people who'd turned a street corner, and stumbled across a dog's corpse."

Sheesh! They really are serious.

The thing about this is how much they enjoy it, and how they are never without a focus of fury. Bush hatred morphed into Palin dementia, and then to Perry hysterics, without a break in their rhythm, or a skip in their beat. Not since the whipping craze of the late Middle Ages have furies so strange held so much sway among those who think themselves rational people. They seem to need it to shore up their reason for being...

Read the rest of Noemie Emery's fine column in the Washington Examiner right here.

David Limbaugh Is On His Way to Nebraska

Here's some exciting news. Author and syndicated columnist David Limbaugh is coming to Nebraska to help raise money and awareness for the Nebraska Coalition for Ethical Research, an organization promoting life-affirming science such as that using adult stem cells. I'm honored to be associated with NCER and I have the greatest respect and appreciation for David Limbaugh so I'm pleased to promote this important event.

Actually, there are two events. Limbaugh will be speaking at a dinner in Omaha at the Scott Conference Center on Thursday night, November 10th and a breakfast at the Cornhusker Marriott Center in Lincoln the next morning.

This is NCER's primary fund-raising effort and they've found a terrific speaker to headline it. So, if you can afford it, please consider joining Claire and I in supporting this extremely important cause. Here's the contact page for reservations.

Also, the Nebraska Coalition for Ethical Research has just changed its Facebook location and so I urge those of you on Facebook to zip over there and "Like" the page. It's a good thing to do.

Barack Obama's Abortion Absolutism

National Public Radio reports on another element of the Obama administration's ever-zealous campaign to promote abortion; namely, the Justice Department's aggressive actions against peaceful sidewalk counselors outside abortion clinics.

The Obama Justice Department has been taking a more aggressive approach against people who block access to abortion clinics, using a 1994 law to bring cases in greater numbers than its predecessor. The numbers are most stark when it comes to civil lawsuits, which seek to create buffer zones around clinic entrances for people who have blocked access in the past. Under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, the Justice Department's civil rights division has filed eight civil cases since the start of the Obama administration. That's a big increase over the George W. Bush years, when one case was filed in eight years.

"There's been a substantial difference between this administration and the one immediately prior," says Ellen Gertzog, director of security for Planned Parenthood...

Over the past two years, the Justice Department and FBI have been meeting with abortion-rights groups and medical providers [that means abortionists, folks] all over the country to explain their work and talk about a federal task force designed to prevent violence against doctors and women seeking abortions.

Timothy Carney comments on this most unjust Justice Department activity:

This President, as a State Senator, voted against a bill requiring doctors to care for babies born after failed abortions (and then misled the media on the matter). As a candidate, he promised his first act would be signing the sweeping "Freedom of Choice Act," which would wipe out nearly all limitations on abortion and abortion subsidies. And then during the budget debates we saw him draw nearly his only line in the sand over Planned Parenthood subsidies.

It's abortion absolutism. Everything else -- free assembly, free speech, conscience protection, and his party's other interests -- they all take a back seat to protecting abortion.

Today's Posts

"When Swing Was King" Serves as a "Lifeline"

Intelligent Design: Science's "Ultimate Skepticism"

RU-486: A Very Dangerous Drug

Ashamed of Abortion? That's So Old-Fashioned.

The Awful Truth About Planned Parenthood

"When Swing Was King" Serves as a "Lifeline"

Dear Denny and Claire,

Thank you for the wonderful music programs you do for the residents – ours as well as so many others.  What memories they bring to the folks and every week I see how meaningful that is to them.  It is a lifeline as well as a common bond among them.  

Enclosed is a ticket for you both to join us here for a meal sometime.  We’d love to have you as our guests!

Sincerely,

Mary
Activities Director, _______ Retirement Community

Intelligent Design: Science's "Ultimate Skepticism"

Speaking of cracks in the “great wall” of evolution, America's most compelling novelist Tom Wolfe writes:

This, science's Ultimate Skepticism, has been spreading ever since then. Over the past two years even Darwinism, a sacred tenet among American scientists for the past seventy years, has been beset by doubts. Scientists -- not religiosi -- notably the mathematician David Berlinski ("The Deniable Darwin," Commentary, June 1996) and the biochemist Michael Behe (Darwin's Black Box, 1996), have begun attacking Darwinism as a mere theory, not a scientific discovery, a theory woefully unsupported by fossil evidence and featuring, at the core of its logic, sheer mush. (Dennett and Dawkins, for whom Darwin is the Only Begotten, the Messiah, are already screaming. They're beside themselves, utterly apoplectic. Wilson, the giant, keeping his cool, has remained above the battle.)"

(Tom Wolfe, "Sorry, But Your Soul Just Died," Orthodoxy Today, 1996)

RU-486: A Very Dangerous Drug

It was another case of ideology trumping both science and common sense when the U.S. Food and Drug and Administration approved the dangerous abortion drug RU-486 for general use.  I say dangerous in both the most obvious sense (the preborn child is murdered by this chemical) but also because of the alarming effects the drug has had on expectant mothers...

Read the rest of Denny Hartford's essay, "RU-486: A Very Dangerous Drug," at the Vital Signs Ministries web site.

Ashamed of Abortion? That's So Old-Fashioned.

Among the common sights in those early days of our sidewalk counseling outside abortion clinics (we started in January 1983) were women trying to somehow sneak past us, crying, hiding their faces, making excuses or telling outright lies, and sometimes being enraged at our presence.

But all such reactions are very rare nowadays. For abortion has become, to so many Americans of child-bearing age, a completely conventional experience. Sure, the facts about abortion's risks to women are more widespread than ever. So too is the knowledge of the wondrous development of the human person inside the womb. And yes, the polls suggest that American youth are more pro-life than their parents' generation.

Nevertheless, those who head to the abortion clinic to get their "problem fixed" are largely untroubled by scientific facts, medical risks, moral corruption or even the fear of God. Not all of them, no. But we must honestly face the fact that most of these women (and men) know all too well that ending their pregnancy means killing their child -- but they don't care. Their lives are dominated by the self-interest of the immediate moment.

I'm well aware that pro-abortion spokespersons (and some pro-life leaders too) insist that every woman dealing with an unexpected pregnancy does so with careful deliberation amid anxiety, fear, and a moral debate with her conscience. But this just doesn't fit the facts. Not the facts that show that a high percentage of abortions in America are repeat abortions; that is, women who are having their second, third or more abortion.

And it doesn't fit the facts that a sidewalk counselor sees outside the abortion mills. For there we rarely see tears from an abortion client or any other indication that this is a traumatic, difficult, crisis situation for them. Instead of the crying, the shame, the excuses or even the guilty anger, the women going into the abortion centers where their preborn babies will be killed are re-doing their makeup, adjusting their clothes, laughing on their cell phones, or kissing their other child in the car seat before Daddy drives off.

Moral sensitivity is dying. Or dead altogether. Religious understanding is absent. And a commitment to career, leisure activities, body shape and material "stuff" leaves no room for the precious, innocent and miraculous baby she has conceived and is carrying.

It's not just the continuation of abortion in America that breaks my heart. It's that so much of America isn't even ashamed of it anymore.

The Awful Truth About Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood loves to spout slogans and spin platitudes.

Planned Parenthood loves to suppress the truth about their racist origins, their immense profits, their reception of millions from taxpayers, their profane "educational" materials, their deceptive manipulation with clients, and their involvement in criminal activity.

And, oh yes. Planned Parenthood loves something else. They love abortion. And in addition to providing poisonous chemicals which destroy millions of preborn boys and girls, Planned Parenthood's own abortionists perform over 300,000 surgical abortions a year.

At an average cost of $450 per child aborted in this barbaric manner, Planned Parenthood is raking in nearly $1.4 million. That's 36.7% of their entire "health center" income.

And that's a far cry from Planned Parenthood's claim that surgical abortion represents just 3% of their business.

It's way past time for Americans to realize the facts. For despite those apple pie billboards, Planned Parenthood is not a family planning organization. It is the bloodiest, most blasphemous abortionist in the nation. Pass the word.

Today's Posts

If In Doubt, Shoot the Bear

What's Our President Thinking About Today?

How Is One-Child Program a "Boon" to Chinese Girls?

Reporting from the Culture Wars

Talking to Your Kids...About Drinking

The Obama Economy: Yet Another Nightmare Appointment

 

 

If In Doubt, Shoot the Bear

Wesley J. Smith weighs in on the incredible travesty of the federal government prosecuting a man who shot a grizzly bear -- a she bear who was in his yard and endangering the dad's young children! (Jeremy's family is shown in the photo at left.)

No one is happy about the dead bear, but good grief!  If this is any way an accurate depiction of the facts, why are the Feds prosecuting?  This is just blind, obtuse, bureaucratism, tinged with radical environmentalism.  Protecting endangered species is a good thing, but not at the expense of a real potential for loss of human life.

I once saw an IMAX movie that depicted grizzly bears as akin to cows.  Pure propaganda.  In fact, grizzlies are very dangerous predators that can run as fast as a race horse.  (I saw one in Yellowstone last year chasing a wolf off an elk carcass.  An awesome and truly frightening sight!).  Relevant to this discussion, two hikers have been killed in Yellowstone this year by grizzly bears, one by a mother bear with cubs.

Human life is priceless.  Bear life is not.  If in doubt, shoot the bear.

What's Our President Thinking About Today?

What's on Barack Obama's mind today?  I would, of course, place my bets on the same things you would: golf, basketball, fundraising, vacations, White House parties, photo ops, blaming George W. Bush for stuff, etc.

But here are a few other things that might crop up.

1) Uncle Omar?

Obama Onyango, Barack Obama's uncle who was arrested last week for DUI, has been illegally living in the U.S. since the 1960s. But he's been living in a pretty nice home in a suburb of Boston, working in a liquor store, and hosting popular backyard barbecues. And you think the American people are going to believe that the President didn't know he was there? Right. And so now you know why the press refuses to touch this story.

2) Solyndra?

President Obama made a high-profile visit in May 2010 to Solyndra Inc., a solar-panel manufacturing plant in Fremont, Calif. The company received $535 million in loans from the Energy Department and was a centerpiece of the Obama administration’s economic stimulus effort. “Companies like Solyndra are leading the way toward a brighter and more prosperous future,” Mr. Obama chirped. On Wednesday, Solyndra closed its corporate headquarters, announced that it’s filing for bankruptcy and laying off 1,100 workers... (Washington Times editorial)

3) Bad-mouthing Congress after being schooled by John Boehner?

Within minutes of agreeing with congressional leaders Wednesday night on an address to a joint session next week, President Obama flashed out an email to millions of supporters criticizing the chambers, their members and vowing to pressure them to enact his as yet unspecified job creation ideas.

"It's been a long time since Congress was focused on what the American peoplObama during his address to the American Legion 8-30-11e need them to be focused on," the Democrat charged in an email with the subject line: "Frustrated."

It's not exactly clear how long "a long time" Obama was thinking of. But until midterm voters produced a historic House turnover to Republicans last November, Obama's Democratic Party controlled both houses with substantial majorities and gave him vast spending, reform and healthcare programs...(Andrew Malcolm, LA Times)

4)  The ExxonMobil lawsuit?

ExxonMobil, the world’s largest energy company, filed a lawsuit against the federal government for canceling an oil-drilling lease in the Gulf of Mexico that held “billions of barrels of oil,” according to the company.

In the suit, filed Aug. 12 in federal court in Louisiana against Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar and related parties, Exxon alleges that the Interior Department made an “arbitrary, capricious” decision in canceling the deepwater leases, arguing that the government’s action “deprives ExxonMobil of property without due process of law.” (Matt Cover, CNS News)

5) Unemployment figures?

The unemployment level appears flat only because the workforce is shrinking as millions of able Americans give up hope of a real career style job. For months (here, here, here and here) I have shown how the stable U3 unemployment number is a sad fiction, that when you adjust for where the workforce should be right now based on population and historic trends, the unemployment is in the 10.5+% range. (A.J. Strata)

How Is One-Child Program a "Boon" to Chinese Girls?

The title of Alexa Olesen's Associated Press story is certainly a disturbing one -- "One-Child Policy a Surprising Boon for China Girls." Surprising? I guess so, given that Communist China's barbaric one-child-only policies have led to the targeted annihilation of millions of females.

But a comparative few did survive, due particularly to the lack of ultrasound techniques in rural areas. Parents were thus unaware of the "curse" of producing a female child until she was born. Olesen's story doesn't deal with the terrible fact that infanticide remains a huge threat to girls even after birth. But for the ones that do survive, the prospects of independence, education, financial gain and so on are better than previously.

And that's the focus of Olesen's article.

Since 1979, China's family planning rules have barred nearly all urban families from having a second child in a bid to stem population growth. With no male heir competing for resources, parents have spent more on their daughters' education and well-being, a groundbreaking shift after centuries of discrimination.

"They've basically gotten everything that used to only go to the boys," said Vanessa Fong, a Harvard University professor and expert on China's family planning policy...

So is Olesen suggesting that the forced abortions, the forced sterilizations, the fines and imprisonment are all acceptable -- even good -- because they've created more opportunities for the comparatively few girls who do survive? Well, I'm afraid such an impression is strong although she finally gets around to dealing with the obvious; namely, the "boon" that she heralds in her title has been denied, as has the right to life itself, to more than 40 million girls!

The birth limits are also often criticized for encouraging sex-selective abortions in a son-favoring society. Chinese traditionally prefer boys because they carry on the family name and are considered better earners. With the arrival of sonogram technology in the 1980's, some families no longer merely hoped for a boy, they were able to engineer a male heir by terminating pregnancies when the fetus was a girl...

Still, 43 million girls have "disappeared" in China due to gender-selective abortion as well as neglect and inadequate access to health care and nutrition, the United Nations estimated in a report last year.

Yin Yin Nwe, UNICEF's representative to China, puts it bluntly: The one-child policy brings many benefits for girls "but they have to be born first."

Uh, right. They have to be born first.

But even with the above passage included in her lengthy article, Olesen concludes with the positive spin she began with, highlighting the advantages single-child girls have in modern China and hoping they can make the best of their opportunities. Indeed, she quotes a female educator who offers the benefits of the one-child-only policy. You don't have to share resources with a sibling. You don't have to be bothered with obligations or distractions.  You don't have to compete for limited opportunities. So yes, the educator admits, "I do think the (one-child) policy has improved female well-being to a great extent."

Do you buy that?

I'll bet 43,000,000 Chinese girls would disagree. If they were alive to do so.

Reporting from the Culture Wars

And people wonder why I shudder (with fear, sorrow and incredulity) for the future of my country?

* The federal government has sued a major trucking company for its firing of driver with an admitted alcohol abuse problem. Alcoholism is classified as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the suit maintains, and therefore employees cannot be prohibited even from driving 18 wheelers due to their histories of abuse...(Lachlan Markay, Heritage Foundation story)

* With the official repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" less than a month away, members of the military can expect to see a new gay-themed magazine available at military exchange stores on Sept. 20, the same day the repeal goes into effect. (Fox News report)


* Earlier this year, Kansas legislators approved a new budget that transferred taxpayer dollars from Planned Parenthood to family planning groups that don’t provide abortions. This week, a federal judge ruled the state has to fund the group — whether it wants to or not...(Citizen Link)

* Prosecutions are essential in combating the horrific sex-trafficking industry, and a recent case just made the complicated process a whole lot harder. With criminal networks involving numerous countries, thousands of individuals and countless resources, prosecutions must untangle a complex web while balancing aggressive detective work and undercover investigations. Once again, the Department of Justice’s handling - or mishandling - of a case threatens the abolitionist movement combating sex trafficking... (Janice Crouse and Mario Diaz, Washington Times story)

* A book has just been published called “A Bittersweet Season,” written by a retired New York Times Reporter, detailing her account of assisting her elderly mother to die of starvation.  Her mother’s health had been deteriorating, but she was not terminally ill. In spite of this fact, this woman was placed in hospice care where she was subsequently deprived of food and water and died 13 days later... (Barb Malek, Erase the Need column)

* The state of Illinois just found itself in a bit of a mess. After investing $750 million annually into a program to subsidize childcare for low-income families, it has come out that many of the state-hired childcare providers were convicted rapists, molesters and other violent felons... (Sabrina L. Schaeffer, The Hill's Pundits Blog)

* More people were put to death by abortion YESTERDAY than have been put to death by capital punishment since the signing of the Magna Carta nearly 800 years ago. (Carl Brown)

Need I continue?

Prayers, holy living, a dedication to hold up the banner of God's truth and a secure hope of heaven (based upon the mercy of Christ Who died to pay for man's sin) is more in order than ever before.

Talking to Your Kids...About Drinking

What extremely dangerous activity is it that nearly half of American college students engage in regularly?

Binge drinking.

Certainly binge drinking (downing 5 or more alcoholic drinks at one sitting) encourages irresponsible, even hazardous behavior: crime, sexual promiscuity, drunk driving, etc.

But it's a very dangerous act in itself. For not only are alcohol-related deaths continuing to increase in this age group, young people who binge drink are causing serious and frequently irreparable damage to their brains.

Talking to your kids about alcohol abuse and the whole host of related issues (peer pressure, self-esteem, moral standards, expectations and achieving goals) cannot be emphasized enough. And those conversations certainly shouldn't wait until your kids are packing the car to go off to college.

Committing ourselves to our kids' future means spending plenty of meaningful time with them, preparing them spiritually for the challenges awaiting, and maintaining high standards of morality and purpose ourselves.

The Obama Economy: Yet Another Nightmare Appointment

In this enlightening Washington Examiner column, Cal Thomas describes what's awaiting America with the appointment of leftist theoritician Alan Krueger to be chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.

...Krueger, writing for the New York Times blog in 2009, proposed as an object of discussion, instituting a 5 percent consumption, or value added tax, on top of the income tax, which he said would "raise approximately $500 billion a year, and fill a considerable hole in the budget outlook."

He acknowledged that a consumption tax would "reduce economic activity" and be a "greater burden for the poor, who spend a relatively high share of their income."

How many of those working in the private sector think government deserves more of our money when it has done such a dreadful job of spending what we have already provided it?...

The naming of Krueger is another indication that Obama is not likely to adjust his "spread the wealth around" philosophy in light of the facts. With the words "fanatic" and "extremist" being applied by liberal Democrats to some of the Republican presidential candidates, Obama continues to engage in economic extremism with fanatical policies that don't have a chance of producing jobs in the private sector, much less win congressional approval.

Freddy Krueger terrorized his victims in their dreams. If Alan Krueger has his way, the dreams of too many Americans will soon become nightmares.