| “We dare not let them develop the nuclear bomb,” railed the president. And he was backed up by other presidents, prime ministers, and rulers. |
Which President?
Which country is/was them?
(I was suprised.)
This and That
Child Training in the News
Judge orders ‘gay’ agenda taught to Christian children
| A federal judge in Massachusetts has ordered the “gay” agenda taught to Christians who attend a public school in Massachusetts, finding that they need the teachings to be “engaged and productive citizens.” |
Spanking-ban plan threatens parental rights
| A California-based pro-family group is launching an alert to parents that their authority to discipline their own children is being threatened by a proposal in the state assembly, despite statements made by the plan’s sponsor. |
| After a month of angry phone calls and talk show appearances, a California lawmaker dropped her bid to ban spanking of children age 3 or younger in California.
Instead, Democratic assemblywoman Sally Lieber introduced a bill Thursday that would allow prosecution of parents who used a belt, paddle, switch or a closed fist to hit a child. But spanking with an open hand still would be allowed by parents as long as it did not inflict serious injury on the child. |
Children harmed by starting school aged four
| The long-term development of the majority of children is being harmed by them being forced to start school aged four, according to a study.
Parents are coming under increasing pressure to enrol children early to make sure they get a place in the best schools, fuelling anxiety levels and damaging youngsters’ self-esteem, it is claimed. |
| On child training, despite the kindly 60-year legacy of the late Dr. Benjamin Spock and the more recent legacy of permissive, helicopter parents, the “Values” sheet declares Americans “believe children must be made to feel guilty if bad and must be spanked if necessary.” It is doubtful one could convene a quorum of psychologists to say making children feel guilty is good. Moreover, many, if not most, Americans are far from the days when corporal punishment was widely practiced. |
Should I Forgive Them?
| The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) took an action rejecting past statements attributed to early Lutheran church reformers and expressed “its deep and abiding sorrow and regret for the persecution and suffering visited upon the Anabaptists during the religious disputes of the past.”
[…] The council acted because past statements have become problematic for the ELCA’s present-day relationships with the Mennonite Church USA and other Christians who trace their heritage to the 16th century Anabaptist reformers, according to the council’s background materials. In the action, the council declared that the ELCA “repudiates the use of governmental authorities to punish individuals or groups with whom it disagrees theologically.” It rejected the arguments of Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon, two 16th century church reformers, “in which they hold that governmental authorities should punish Anabaptists for their teaching,” the action said. |
As a modern-day Anabaptist Mennonite Christian, do I issue a formal statement of forgiveness?
No.
Because I wasn’t wronged. And because neither the church nor its council wronged me.
But I’m glad to see them repudiating and rejecting the notion of the church using the state to punish others for their perceived spiritual and/or religious misdeeds.
(Is it OK for one church to “punish” another church, though?)
US-Mexico Relations
First this from WorldNetDaily:
|
A hundred Mexican trucking companies will have unlimited access to U.S. roads to haul international cargo as part of a year-long pilot program, the Department of Transportation announced today
In return, 100 U.S. trucking companies will be allowed to operate in Mexico but at a later date. |
And then this from OneNewsNow.com:
| Illegal aliens are killing more Americans than the Iraq war, says a new report from Family Security Matters that estimates some 2,158 murders are committed every year by illegal aliens in the U.S. The group says that number is more than 15 percent of all the murders reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the U.S. and about three times the representation of illegal aliens in the general population. |
¡Sí, Señor!
Mexico Intervenes in US Justice System?
| Investigators had no plans to bring charges against Texas Sheriff’s Deputy Gilmer Hernandez until the Mexican government intervened and demanded it, the officer’s supervisor told WND.
Sheriff Don Letsinger of Rocksprings, Texas, said the Texas Rangers were not going to recommend prosecution, but federal law enforcement took over the case in response to the Mexican government’s intervention. Also, in the high-profile case of border agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, the Department of Homeland Security investigation was opened March 4, 2005, the same date the Mexican Consulate demanded prosecution for the shooting of drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, according to numerous agency investigative reports authored by Special Agent Christopher Sanchez. |
What a Baby!
| A premature baby that doctors say spent less time in the womb than any other surviving infant is to be released from a Florida hospital Tuesday.
Amillia Sonja Taylor was just 9 1/2 inches long and weighed less than 10 ounces when she was born Oct. 24. She was delivered 21 weeks and six days after conception. Full-term births come after 37 to 40 weeks. “We weren’t too optimistic,” Dr. William Smalling said Monday. “But she proved us all wrong.” |
Will We Hear It for Pro-Choice?
| Women will be paid to donate their eggs for scientific research in a landmark decision that will prompt a fierce backlash from leading figures in the medical world.
[…] But scientists from the University of Padua in Italy have warned that women who donate their eggs for research could be at risk from life-threatening side effects induced by the powerful drugs administered to them. The drugs help to increase the number of eggs produced and were found by the scientists to cause paralysis and could lead to limb amputation and even death. There were also warnings last night that poor women could be tempted or coerced into taking part for the money. ‘The HFEA could be unwittingly opening the door to barter or sale of eggs, including women in Britain as well as abroad, even though it is saying that women doing this would do so for purely altruistic reasons,’ said Donna Dickenson, emeritus professor of medical ethics and humanities at the University of London and one of Britain’s leading experts on the issue. |