Can you imagine the absolute hissy fit the liberals would have had if some teacher had used public schools to form “Kids for Bush” groups?

     And one more item from this morning’s inbox for your consideration:

Organizing Kids for Obama
by Phyllis Schlafly (February 26, 2010)

     President Barack Obama’s budget has added more than $100 billion of federal taxpayers’ money to what is called "education," so that means it will be spent by alumni of the Saul Alinsky school of radical community organizing and/or the Chicago Democratic machine. We’re indebted to Pamela Geller of AtlasShrugs.com for exposing the shocking use of some of these funds.

     Obama is using the public schools to recruit a private army of high-schoolers to "build on the movement that elected President Obama by empowering students across the country to help us bring about our agenda." We now know that Obama’s "agenda" is to move the United States into European-style Socialism.

     Obama’s internet outreach during his campaign, Obama for America, has been renamed Organizing for America (OFA) in order to recruit students to join a cult of Obama and become activists for his goals. Geller discovered that the teacher of an 11th-grade government class in Massillon, Ohio, passed out the sign-up sheet, headed with Obama’s "O" logo, asking students to become interns for Organizing for America.

     These interns will be given an intensive nine-week training course using comprehensive lesson plans. Assigned readings include Saul Alinsky’s notorious Rules for Radicals, Stir It Up: Lessons from Community Organizing and Advocacy by the left-wing activist Rinku Sen, and particular sections of Dreams From My Father dealing with Obama’s days as a community organizer in Chicago.

     Republican students will be filtered out of the intern program by requiring applicants to answer questions that reveal their politics. One example is, "What one issue facing our country is important to you and why?"

     Geller said the purpose of this training to become Alinsky-style community organizers, is "of course, to elect more Democrats." The internship program is specifically geared to get the kids working in the 2010 elections.

     The sign-up sheet for Organizing for America starts with this instruction: "Organizing for America, the successor organization to Obama for America, is building on the movement that elected President Obama by empowering students across the country to help us bring about our agenda of change." The application explains that this national internship program is "working to make the change we fought so hard for in 2008 a reality in 2010 and beyond."

     This is not the first time Obama has tried to enlist schoolchildren into an Obama cult. Last fall, the instructions mailed to every school by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan added a very political dimension to Obama’s speech that was broadcast to public school children on September 8.

     Geller explained the extensive political dimension of the new intern program. The OFA student interns will be trained in the goals and language of the left: "anti-war agitation, anti-capitalism, Marx, Lenin, [Bill] Ayers, LGBT agenda promotion, global warming, soft-on-jihad, and illegal immigration."

     Another item on OFA’s reading list is The New Organizers by Zack Exley. It brags about "an insurgent generation of organizers" inside the Obama campaign that has "almost without anyone noticing … built the Progressive movement a brand new and potentially durable people’s organization, in a dozen states, rooted at the neighborhood level."

     The ten-page "National Intern Organizer Curriculum" is very specific in describing the tactics that interns will be taught. It includes these components: "Using Story as an Organizing Tool, Building Relationships and Building Teams, Mobilizing to Win On the Issues (issue advocacy), Health Care Service Project."

     Passage of Obamacare is one of this intern project’s major goals. The curriculum promises to provide "insight on the strategy and plan behind the health care campaign" and "further motivate them to work on the issue."

     The sign-up sheet states that the "purpose" of training these students is "to build community" among the interns and teach them "to be leaders in OFA’s organizing work." After all, Barack Obama knows a great deal about being a community organizer; that was his only job before he got into politics.

     Job prospects may be bleak for many Americans, but they will be rosy for alumni of Obama’s intern program. After the students have been fully trained as Alinsky-style community organizers, they will be eligible for jobs in Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, or Learn and Serve America.

     Those three so-called "service" organizations, which annually dole out millions of dollars to left-wing groups, are overseen by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The U.S. Senate just confirmed this Corporation’s new chief executive, Patrick Corvington, who was a senior official of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which has given over a million and a half dollars to the ACORN network of organizations. 

     [All undoubtedly a part of Obama’s campaign to insure his reelection, especially in the face of rising opposition among tax paying adults to his attempted health care takeover and other things that have caused his poll ratings to drop drastically.]

Something else you can expect if you send your kids to public schools

     The news today is full of things that would cause normal thinking people to wonder how safe, morally and spiritually speaking, public schools are.  In an item headlined "Storm brewing over ‘biology-based’ locker rooms: Commission to talk over school accommodations for ‘transgenders’" also on February 27, 2010, Michael Carl of WorldNetDaily asked the question,  Should "George" be allowed to play alongside "Cindy" and "Cathy" on a girls basketball team and then later accompany them into the privacy of a locker room or shower facility that formerly was "biology-based"? 

     This question  will be addressed Monday when the Maine Human Rights Commission meets to talk about "transgendered" students.  Guidelines have been proposed that would specify what commission officials believe all schools must do to make accommodations for any biological boy who asserts he’s female, or biological girl who asserts she’s male.

     Under discussion will be the suggested guideline:

     Transgender students must be allowed access to bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity or expression or, if they prefer, to existing single stall bathrooms.

     With respect to locker rooms and shower facilities that involve undressing in front of others, transgender students must be provided with accommodations that meet their needs and that take into account the legitimate privacy concerns of all student involved.

     Steve Martin, host of the Aroostook Watchmen Radio Program, said the proposed guidelines go far beyond what the people in Maine were promised when the 2005 human rights law passed.  Martin said, "We were assured that the law would not apply to schools or anything other than the workplace, but the language doesn’t read that way. So you can’t, as we’ve all learned, go by what a politician says," Martin said.

     But Maine Human Rights Commission legal counsel John Gause said the proposal is just misunderstood.   "The proposed guidelines are the commissioners’ interpretation of the law. It’s not a binding regulation. They may decide to adopt the proposed guidelines, but they may not. I’m not sure what they’re going to decide to do, but they will address the proposed guidelines," Gause said.

     However, information obtained under state Freedom of Access Act requests by the Maine Family Policy Council is raising alarm.   The council’s Mike Hein said it shows Gause is misrepresenting the commission’s intentions.  An e-mail indicated the guidelines will be adopted as official policy, and they would then have the force of law. The Jan. 20, 2008, statement from Gause to an HRC intern said, "The commission is in the beginning stages of promulgating regulations addressing ‘sexual orientation’ in education."

     Paul Madore of the Maine Grassroots Coalition says that in reality, the guidelines are already law.   "As a matter of fact the issues of gender identity are already law. They were made law by the statute in 2005, so the meat of the guidelines is already in place," Madore said.

     The restroom and shower portion of the guidelines is what concerns the Maine School Management Association. In a letter obtained by the Maine Family Policy Council, association spokesman Bruce Smith writes that the guidelines push the issue even farther than the text of the statute.   "None of these provisions can be found in the language of the Human Rights Act regarding sexual orientation discrimination in education or public accommodations," Smith wrote.   [The problem, of course, is that when any law like this is passed, then it is up to someone to interpret and enforce it, and quite often the bureaucrats are pretty much given free reign to do whatever they want.]

Martin said he believes the language for the guidelines was forced on Maine from the outside.  "These are not rule-making decisions that are coming from inside the state of Maine. The rules that are about to be considered on Monday, were lifted directly, cut and pasted, copied, from the GLAD offices in Boston. So these aren’t even rules that were created here in Maine. They’re being forced on us from the outside," Martin said.   And he said the HRC is not obligated to respond to the public.

     "What happens will depend on how many people show up to express concern. But let me be clear on one thing. The Human Rights Commission is not under any obligation to respond to the citizens with regard to this issue," Martin said.  "Every single person there could testify against it and they could still promulgate the proposals as written," Martin said.

     Madore has little confidence the proposals will be derailed.   "We’re accustomed to dealing with the commission. They fully intend to get what they want because it’s the goal of the legal system to accept homosexuality as normal. The only way out of this is to repeal the sexual orientation law," Madore said. "However, the Monday meeting is simply a show to make the people think they have any input into the process," he continued.

     The current push apparently started over a commission decision last year that found a school in Orono, Asa Adams School, discriminated against a boy by denying him access to the girls’ restroom.  The ripples from that ruling now are being felt. According to documents obtained in the state, the University of Maine already is expressing alarm.   A letter from the university office of equal opportunity noted, "There will likely be cases in which allowing a transgender student to participate in gender-segregated sports in accordance with the gender identity or expression will raise legitimate concerns about fairness in competitive interscholastic sports. …"   The letter pointed out "unintended consequences," such as "a transgendered individual’s participation on a gender-segregated team could result in the NCAA’s treating that team as a mixed team. This would have a number of serious consequences including potentially impacting the institution’s compliance with Title IX."

     Currently, Colorado, Iowa, Washington state, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco have rules, policies or laws dealing with transgender restroom accommodations. The Maine rules would make Maine the first state in the U.S. to adopt the policies for elementary and secondary school students and the first to extend the rules to private and sectarian schools.   The Christian Civic League of Maine’s has called for the public to contact state legislators and oppose imposition of the regulations.

     This is not the first time the argument has arisen.  The city council of Tampa, Fla., voted unanimously to include "gender identity and expression" as a protected class under the city’s human rights ordinance, leading some to fear the council has opened the city’s public bathroom doors to sexual predators masquerading as protected transsexuals.   A statement from the American Family Association explained, "Tampa Police arrested Robert Johnson in February 2008 for hanging out in the locker room–restroom area at Lifestyle Fitness and watching women in an undressed state. The City of Tampa’s ‘gender identity’ ordinance could provide a legal defense to future cases like this if the accused claims that his gender is female."

     A similar plan was adopted by fiat in Montgomery County, Md., which opponents said would open up women’s locker rooms to men who say they are women.   The issue also has come up in Colorado, where Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law a plan that effectively strikes gender-specific restrooms in the state.   And city officials in Kalamazoo, Mich., only weeks after adopting a "perceived gender" bias plan, abandoned it in the face of massive public opposition.

This is what you can expect if you let your kids go to public high schools, so be ready for it!

     In an item headlined "Survey asks students when they lost virginity: Results in newspaper show classes counseled ‘why not’ be sexually active" on February 27, 2010,  Bob Unruh of WorldNetDaily reported that a team of lawyers who advocate for parental rights is working with parents whose children attend Ventura High School in Southern California to raise a formal objection after teachers had students fill out a survey on sex with questions such as "Are you sexually active" and "If not, why not?"

     Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, said the first step will be to file an administrative complaint.  "The parents have tried to reason with school officials about this, but so far administrators have failed to grasp that giving the students this survey without prior written notice and consent was illegal," he said.

     The survey was reported in the student Cougar Press in December. The report apparently was not included as part of the paper’s ordinary online presentation, officials said, but was obtained by a parent who posted the pages only for other parents to see.  The newspaper, in addition to the sex survey results, included a page of photographs of students revealing what songs put them "in the mood," a sex crossword puzzle and other advocacy for being sexually active.  A school spokesman said officials could not comment.  (Or in other words, WOULD not comment!)

     Dacus saud schools should know that parents need to be able to trust their schools for the education system to work.   "When parental trust is breached, then school districts end up losing that participation," he said. "If school districts … want to be successful, they have to respect the rights of parents and not be caught doing things behind the backs of parents."  He said the primary issue is that a state law forbids such sex surveys without parental knowledge.   The problem only was revealed because a student took a copy home, in violation of instructions she was given, and some parents found out.

     The questions included:  What grade were you in when you lost your virginity?  What is your overall number of partners you have engaged in sexual activity with?  Were you sober the first time you engaged in sexual activity?"  Have you or your partner ever had an abortion?"  How often do you engage in sexual activity?"  Are your parents aware of your sexual activity?
     Pacific Justice said that according to the newspaper, the survey was given to 1,000 students in every grade in high school. The organization said it was administered with the knowledge and assistance of the high school during second class period and had no relationship to any subject the students were enrolled in at that time.

     "The school allowed the use of instructional time to administer the survey and the teachers then collected it and handed it over to the newspaper," said parent John Silva, who obtained a copy of the newspaper from a concerned student.

     "Because the sex survey was given without prior written notice and subsequent written consent by the parents or guardians, the school violated the law," said Kevin Snider, chief counsel of the Pacific Justice Institute.

     "By facilitating the newspaper to conduct the survey, we feel the school was complicit in violating the rights of the parents," said Julie Wilson, a parent of a high school student.

“The King Trusts in the Lord”

     This is a cross-post from another of my blogs, but while I was posting it there this morning and rereading over it, I thought that even if I do say so myself it sounds pretty good, so I thought that I would post it here too. 

"THE KING TRUSTS IN THE LORD"

By Wayne S. Walker

     "For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved" (Psalm 21:7).  Oh, that this were the case today!  We understand that our nation is not set up like Old Testament Israel with the civil and the religious intertwined, but our first amendment guarantee of freedom of religion does not demand that our government be completely secular and refuse to acknowledge our dependence on God.  Even our founding documents recognize that "…all Men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…."  Whatever their faults, our founding fathers trusted in the Lord!

     However, this is not always the case today.  If a conservative, Bible-believing President suggests that He truly looks to the Lord for guidance, the liberals in our society hoot, and holler, and laugh at what they view as such benighted ignorance.  Yet, when election time rolls around, these same liberals, seeing that a vast number of the American people are basically conservative and religious, all of a sudden "get religion" or at least hire advisors to help them make inroads among churchgoers (to get their vote!), all the while continuing to support abortion, promote homosexual rights, and take other positions that are clearly anti-Biblical.  "They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him…" (Titus 1:16).

     It is important for us to remember "that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses" (Daniel 4:32).  Government is ordained of God, and while God may not necessarily approve of all governments, no government can exist without His permission.  At the same time, while no government is perfect because each one is made up of fallible human beings, the Bible is clear that when a government and the people under its rule truly trust in the Lord, they will be blessed. 

     "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:34).  We recognize that no civil ruler, political party, or form of government can make us right with God–only Jesus Christ can do that.  However, it should behoove Christians to seek out and support people in government who will stand up for and promote righteousness rather than those who endorse and encourage sin.  And we should pray that our leaders will trust in the Lord and that through the mercy of the Most High they will not be moved.  

Protecting children

     One reason that many of us who homeschool do so is that we want to protect our children–not isolate them, not shut them away in a closet, not  keep them from seeing any of "the real world"–but insulate and shelter them like young, growing plants, during their most vulnerable and immature years so that we can have the time to train them to be ready for whatever "the real world" has to throw at them when they are older and more mature.  In addition to wanting our own children protected, most of us also have hearts for other children in various circumstances who need to be protected.
     On Sat., February 13, 2010, in an article entitled "The Dangerous Linkage of Naïveté and Good Intentions" on Townhall.com,  Janice Shaw Crouse began, "When people see children in danger or being harmed, everybody wants to do something to protect them. Few people question the good intentions of the missionaries who were arrested in Haiti for trying to rescue children supposedly orphaned by the devastating earthquakes that destroyed so much of that country. Many people, however, have commented on their naïveté in rushing in without thoroughly investigating the situation or understanding the laws and ramifications of the rescue operation. That inexperience and lack of sophistication is replicated often when it comes to protecting children.
     She notes that currently, the Georgia state legislature is considering a bill (S.B. 304) that would decriminalize the prostitution of children. Those supporting the bill are very well-meaning and want to protect children. They want the children who are exploited by adults to be treated as victims, not criminals. They believe that preventing the arrest of a prostituted child, is the best way to keep her safe. But, she continues, "They couldn’t be more wrong. By removing the ability of police to take these children into custody, thus separating them from their pimps, these children are left at the mercy of the pimps, traffickers and johns. How can the police and prosecutors build a case against the pimps and johns when there is no crime on the books? Now, few pimps and johns are arrested; it is difficult to believe this law will help abused children or enable the police and prosecutors to end the demand."
     Some other quotes from the article:  "The plain, hard fact is that legal means are necessary to help the girls –– get them the services and rehabilitation that they need –– and prosecute the pimps and johns. If the crime were decriminalized, the police officers’ ability to intervene would be limited." 
     As Tanya Ditty, State Director for Concerned Women for America (CWA) of Georgia, said, “Decriminalization would not serve to help these victims; it would increase their exploitation. Decriminalizing prostitution creates a wonderful situation for pimps and traffickers, ties the hands of the police to arrest them and keep women and children enslaved.”
     The late Norma Hotaling, an 18-year-old victim of prostitution, once told Laura Lederer, Vice President of Global Centurion, that “she owed her life to the laws and law enforcement officers who arrested her for prostitution –– because it forced her into the services that she needed –– chemical detox, food, clothing and shelter, medical assistance, legal assistance, and finally therapy.” Norma became a leader in the international fight against sex trafficking and a champion of those who are sexually exploited. She passed away last year, but her legacy continues.
     Crouse wrote, "Decriminalizing prostitution for minors does not reduce demand for commercial sex with minors. In fact, it may increase demand because the pimps and traffickers would have an extra layer of protection between them and law enforcement. Prostituted minors will deny to law enforcement that they are being pimped or trafficked, thus making the pimping of minors more lucrative and lessening the danger of being caught. Keeping the laws in place allows the police to investigate and with proper training recognize the victims involved in order to get them the help and services that they need."
     She concluded, "In the case of minors who are being sexually exploited, being well-meaning is not enough. We cannot be naive and seek faux-utopian solutions; we have to take a hard-nosed look at what works and what provides the best protection and opportunity to rescue those held captive by street-smart pimps who know how to work the system."

pills in class?

     Barb Frank, "The Imperfect Homeschooler," in a recent e-newsletter, included a link for the following story in her "What Our Kids Are Missing Out On Dept.," saying, "Some 4th-grade teachers gave their students pretend drugs (in realistic pharmacy bottles) to help them calm down before upcoming achievement tests. I’m not sure what’s sadder, that the teachers thought this was ok, or that the school only received one complaint about it!"

     The Feb., 8, 2010, news item, from The Tampa Tribune on Tampa Bay Online was headlined, "Westchase teachers learn a lesson: Say ‘no’ to mints in pill bottles."  It began, "What two fourth-grade teachers at Westchase Elementary School apparently thought was a creative way to calm students about to take the FCAT made at least one caregiver fear the teachers were sending a different message – that taking drugs while under stress is OK."

     According to the reporters, Sandy Young walked into her grandson’s fourth-grade classroom last Thursday and saw pill bottles on each students’ desk.   She immediately questioned Westchase Elementary fourth-grade teacher Beth Watson about the pill bottles, which were filled with pieces of small mint candy.  "She said it was nothing but some mints; it was just something special for the kids, for the FCAT to mellow them out," Young said.

     Young said the bottle reads in part: "Watson’s Whiz Kid Pharmacy. Take 1 tablet by mouth EVERY 5 MINUTES to cure FCAT jitters. Repeated use may cause craft to spontaneously ooze from pores. No refills. Ms. (Deborah) Falcon’s authorization required.z’  The school received one complaint since pill bottles were distributed on Thursday, said Linda Cobbe, a school district spokeswoman. It’s believed only two fourth-grade teachers at the school distributed the pill bottles.

     The principal met with the students on Monday to confirm the pill bottles contained mints that were safe to eat. The students were asked to dump the mints in a separate container and the pill bottles were thrown away, Cobbe said.  She said the bottle idea was tied to the children’s book the students recently read, "George’s Marvelous Medicine," about a boy who concocts potions to try to change the disposition of his cranky grandmother.

     The teachers were just trying to use a creative way to get across to the students not to be stressed with the FCAT writing examination that will be administered to fourth-, eighth- and 10th-graders beginning today, Cobbe said.  "Elementary teachers do creative things to make learning fun," Cobbe said.  The teachers won’t be disciplined, and it wasn’t their intention to promote drug use, Cobbe said.  "I know that is not the intent of the teachers," Cobbe said. "That is not the outcome they would wish for."

     Young said her grandson has been at Westchase Elementary for a year, and she hasn’t had any complaints. But this experience has soured her.  It concerns her that now someone might hand her grandson a pill bottle with drugs and he might think it’s OK to consume its contents.  "We as parents and grandparents have to drill it into them that this is unacceptable and hope and pray that they don’t accept drugs from someone else," Young said.

     My observations:  First, it is sad that the whole incident is based on the "if you need to calm down, just take a pill" mentality that so permeates our society.  Yes, there are times when medicine is necesssary, but the current fad of "all kids are hyperactive so they need to be zombied out on ritalin" way of doing things is just plain wrong.  Mrs. Young is absolutely right.  Second, the teachers won’t be disciplined, but you can bet your booties that if a student had brought a prescription bottle with candy in it to school, "zero tolerance" policies would have had that kid thrown out on his rear end in no time!   Oh, and by the way, the book George’s Marvelous Medicine sounds like a real "downer."  Can’t public school elementary teachers find more uplifting books for children to read?

Imprimis

     Imprimis is a free monthly journal of speeches published by Hillsdale College, 33 E. College St., Hillsdale, MI  49242 (www.hillsdale.edu or imprimis@hillsdale.edu ).  Some of the speeches are more interesting than others, and when I saw that the Jan., 2010, issue was a speech delivered in Washington, DC in the "First Principles on First Fridays" lecture series sponsored by Hillsdale College’s Allan P. Kirby, Jr., Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship about "The Generosity of America" by Adam Meyerson, President of the Philanthropy Rountable, who has also served as a vice president at the Heritage Foundation, editor-in-chief of Policy Review, editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal, and managing editor of The American Spectator, it did not sound too interesting at first.  However, I went ahead and read it, and I was amazed at how relevant it is.

     After chronicling the efforts of Ransom Dunn in 1853 who set off on a two-year journey to raise funds for the young HIllsdale College, Meyerson talked about the importance of private foundations to the charitable giving in America and the reasons for our nation’s generosity, number one being that we are the most religious people of any leading modern economy, and second because our tradition has respected the freedom and ability of individuals and associations of individuals to make a difference.  However, he also noted some threats to American philanthropy, the first of which is the "one-size-fits-all governance and regulatory proposals that would limit the diversity and independence of the charitable world."

     Then he said, "The second threat is the increasingly common argument that foundation assets are ‘public money’ and that decisions about grant-making are subject to political control.  This argument was made most recently by a prominent menber of Congress, Xavier Becerra.  He referred to the tax-favored treatment of charitable giving as a ‘$32 billion earmark’ and warned foundations that Congress has an obligation to ensure that philanthropic assets advance the public good."

     Notice the chilling phrase "the public good."  Who is to determine what "the public good" is?  Can Congress determine that "the public good" must include the advancement of homosexuality and so cancel the tax-exempt status of any private foundation which may have religious scruples against the promotion of the radical homosexual rights agenda?  This would have the effect of immediately reducing or even eliminating the charitable gifts to such a foundation since people and corporations could no longer consider them tax deductions.  Whatever happened to the principle that "it’s our money, not the government’s, and we can do with it what we choose"?

     I have suggested over and over again that Imprimis (again, it’s FREE!) would make a wonderful resource for homeschooled students who are studying current events, American government, and related subjects, because they will get a perpsective that is not found in many other resources.

Dr. Robert Dreyfus Courageous Christian Leadership Award

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Paul and Gena Suarez
Recipients of the 2009
Dr. Robert Dreyfus Courageous Christian Leadership Award

      COLUMBIA, SC,Jan. 26/Christian Newswire/–Frontline Ministries, Inc. and the Exodus Mandate Project ( www.Exodusmandate.org ) announced today that Mr. and Mrs. Paul and Gena Suarez are the joint recipients of the 2009 Dr. Robert Dreyfus Courageous Christian Leadership Award. Established by Frontline Ministries, Inc. in 2007, this award honors and recognizes Christian leaders who have exhibited moral courage through their unique contribution to the Church by advancing Christianity in the culture and life of the nation. This contribution and ministry may be in the face of opposition, or it may run counter to the prevailing culture of Church and society. Chaplain Moore said of Mr. and Mrs. Suarez: "This couple has made a tremendous contribution to homeschool education through the founding and publishing of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine ( www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com ). Their magazine has grown into the largest Christian homeschool magazine in the United States."

     Starting with a humble beginning in spring of 2000, not as a magazine but as on online e-Bay business selling used textbooks and curricula to homeschool families throughout the United States and abroad, it flourished and became a 12-page black and white flyer (The Old Schoolhouse Newsletter) in 2001. In 2002 Paul and Gena began publishing a full-color glossy magazine with paying advertisers–The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (TOS). Since then, the Lord has blessed their efforts and has expanded TOS with the addition of a blogging community ( www.HomeschoolBlogger.com ), an online store ( www.TheOldSchoolhouseStore.com ), and a number of other homeschool-associated websites.

     TOS Magazine exists to support and encourage the Christian homeschooler. Says Gena Suarez: "For the Christian, ‘homeschooling’ is not merely about ‘schooling’ or ‘education.’ Homeschooling is about discipleship–cultivating a love for God in our children’s hearts (Proverbs 22:6)." TOS Magazine is inclusive with respect to educational methodology, allowing "experts" to freely talk to the homeschool community about the various education methods available to them, as well as providing an endless array of educational resources, product reviews, and heartwarming, encouraging articles written by homeschool columnists.

     TOS Magazine exists to bless the Church. It is their objective to educate and warn the Church about the true nature of the public school system–to provide the Church with an accurate picture of the public school profile. "No other entity or establishment has succeeded in inflicting more injury to the Body of Christ in this country than the public school system," said recipient Paul Suarez.

     TOS Magazine exists to bless the non-Christians–to share the Gospel with homeschooling families who have not yet embraced Christ. While there are few non-Christian homeschoolers who subscribe to the magazine, most of their contact with such homeschoolers takes place through their blogging community on HomeschoolBlogger.com (HSB). They intentionally did not make HSB a "Christian" community, hoping to draw homeschoolers of all faiths and to encourage those who know the Truth to engage in lively conversation with those who have not encountered the Truth yet.

     In accepting the award, Paul and Gena Suarez said: "We are most appreciative of your recognition. Yes, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is about homeschooling, but our focus has always been to keep Christ ‘front and center,’ even as we promote and advance the cause of homeschooling. It is our prayer that God will use this humble little phenomenon known as "homeschooling" to revive the Church in this country–and around the world–and set it back on its biblical foundation."

      Dr. Robert Dreyfus, for whom the award has been named said, "Paul and Gena Suarez embody the attributes that have made America great, and many individuals have benefited from their work." Dr. Dreyfus, a prominent retired Florida dentist and inventor of a device to relieve neuromuscular pain, served as a president of the Florida Dental Society of Anesthesiology. He has a 45-year history of volunteer work on behalf of family values and K-12 Christian education in Florida and is now the Florida State Coordinator for the Exodus Mandate Project.

     Dr. Bruce Shortt, Exodus Mandate Board member and contributor to TOS Magazine said: "No magazine does a better job of reflecting the joys of homeschooling than Paul and Gena Suarez’s The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. From the beautifully designed cover and layout to the insightful and engaging articles, the Suarezes show in every issue of TOS how homeschooling is a profoundly fulfilling journey that anyone can undertake. Homeschooling couldn’t ask for better ambassadors than Paul and Gena."

     Chaplain Moore noted that the 2009 award is the third to be awarded. The 2008 recipient was Dr. Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., president of the National Home Education Research Institute ( www.nheri.org ). His work as a premier researcher, writer, and demographic analyst for homeschooling in the U.S. has been recognized by both the Christian and secular worlds.

     Questions about Paul and Gena or The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine? Email publisher@thehomeschoolmagazine.com .

more about “hate speech” as seen by Muslims

     This is probably the final word about an incident that I have blogged about a couple of times recently.   In an item headlined, "Lancaster, CA – hate crimes harbinger?", Charlie Butts of OneNewsNow reported on 2/10/2010 that the mayor of Lancaster, California, has apologized for pro-Christian comments he made recently before a group of pastors.

     Mayor R. Rex Parris said in his address that Lancaster was "growing a Christian community," and after controversy developed he issued an apology. City Councilwoman Sherry Marquez posted on Facebook comments about a Muslim honor killing on the East Coast, thought better about it, and pulled the comments an hour and a half later. She has also apologized.
 
     The Antelope Valley Human Relations Task Force responded and heard from community residents Monday night. Task Force chairman Darren Parker tells OneNewsNow that hate crimes charges against Parris and Marquez will not be sought.
 
     "The organization will send a letter," he explains. "It was voted on by the entire body, recommended along with our legal counsel, that unanimously we would send a letter recognizing that in fact something had happened, and that in fact people were harmed by this."
 
     Parker said the apologies were helpful. But the Council on American-Islamic Relations has filed a federal complaint against both parties. Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute complains that the case demonstrates that hate-crimes laws chill free speech.
 
     "With the hate-crimes bill in place, this is probably just one example of many to come of attempts to try to silence people of faith," says the attorney. "And that’s why we must aggressively correct this and make sure these individuals and their rights are protected against this kind of outrageous intimidation and silencing."
 
     The letters from the Task Force, according to the Antelope Valley Press, were to tell Marquez that her remarks were "divisive and inflammatory" — and the mayor that his were "divisive and exclusive rather than inclusive."

      My observations:  I could say that I wish that the mayor and the councilwoman had stood their ground and defended freedom of speech.  However, I am not in their shoes and will not judge them.  There are times when it is best to let things die quietly under the assumption that "He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day."  However, I am extremely disappointed with a nation, a society, and especially an administration in which public officials feel that they have to apologize for believing in and speaking out about the traditional Judaeo-Christian heritage upon which this country was so obviously founded.

Home School Digest

     I love to read homeschooling magazines.  I have subscribed to many over the years and benefitted from them all.  Of course, I have not always agreed with everything that I have read in each one of them, but as with anything else, you take what you can use and ignore what isn’t applicable.  One of my favorites has been Home School Digest ( www.WisdomsGate.org ).  The Vol. 19, No. 2 (2009) issue came yesterday, and here are just some of the articles that caught my attention:

A Matter of Perspective, by editor Skeet Savage
tributes to Chris Klicka, by Skeet Savage and Israel Wayne
The Hardest People to Love, by Kevin Swanson
Teaching Children to Honor God’s Name, by Michael McHugh
Cutting Software Bills in a Homeschool Budget, by homeschool graduate Daniel Mount
Casting Off Instruction, by homeschool graduate Sara Nicole Smith
Fear Not, by Michael Pearl
Homeschooling Failure?, by Sherry Bushnell (of NATHHAN)
How I Taught My Children to Sit Still and Be Quiet, by homeschool graduate and Wisdom’s Gate Marketing Director Israel Wayne
Legalism: Get Rid of It!, by Shane Idleman (something that applies to homeschoolers too!)
Determining Your Educational Philosophy, by Wayne Walker (yes, that’s I)
Teach Your Children Sin, by Steve and Carol Ryerson (not what you might think)
The Importance of Teaching Good Manners, by Emilie Cianciola
and ADHD: What Child Doesn’t Fit That Description?, by Dr. Albert Mohler
among many others