Free Republic

It was a simple question, posed to us in the Highlands Writers Group. “What was the best Christmas gift you ever received?” That question made me think deeply. I discovered that gifts change as years pass. I don’t mean the obvious, that you get different gifts in different years. I mean that the gifts you did get, even long, long ago, change with time. I was six in 1949, when the first Christmas I clearly remember, came around. We lived at 205 W. College Avenue, in Salisbury, Maryland. On the Eastern Shore, Salisbury was, and mostly still is, a sleepy...

A judge has attacked parents, suggesting they are bigots for seeking to opt-out their elementary-age children from a mandatory controversial pro-homosexual curriculum, according to a non-profit law firm.

Thanksgiving is a time for gathering with family and friends, recounting our blessings, and enjoying the bounty of our land. But have you noticed that often we project an attitude of dissatisfaction, discontentedness, and criticism rather than a spirit of thankfulness? The definition of gratitude is “thankful appreciation for favors or benefits received.” If we consider the benefits of salvation, and the advantages of living in God’s favor, it’s hard to imagine Christians failing to live a life of “thankful appreciation.” Often, we try to consign thankfulness to one worship service, banquet, family gathering, or date on the calendar. But...

WASHINGTON – Faced with limited job options, many young adults are turning to an old standby to weather the recession: moving back in with mom and dad. Nearly 1 in 7 parents with grown children say they had a "boomerang kid" move back home in the past year, according to a study being released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center. In a turnabout in the rite of passage in which a college graduate finds a job and an apartment, many are returning to their parents' empty nests because of tight finances or as they pursue an advanced degree. "The journey...

A 12-year-old girl is prohibited from bringing aspirin to California public schools without a note from her mother or father – but in many California districts she may sign herself out of classes, leave her junior-high campus without parental permission, secretly have an abortion and return to school before the end of the day – and her own family may be none the wiser. Parents and educators across the state have been in heated debate over school policies allowing children to be excused during class time without parental notification for "confidential medical services" such as abortions, birth control, and drug...

School nurses mistakenly gave the swine flu vaccine to two students who didn't sign up for it - including a Brooklyn girl with epilepsy who wound up in the hospital. "I was outraged," Naomi Troy, 26, told the Daily News after her 6-year-old daughter, Nikiyah Torres-Pierre, had a possible allergic reaction to the shot. Officials at Public School 335 in Crown Heights called an ambulance to take Nikiyah to SUNY Downstate Medical Center when she fell ill following the arm jab. "My stomach was hurting, and I was itching," Nikiyah said after she was released from the hospital. The snafu...

News from across the pond shows yet another means via which liberal, anti-family types are pushing to separate children from their parents. The lead paragraph says it all:

"Once a liar, always a liar" is a proverbial parental admonishment. A new study claims there is truth to the adage: People who cheated on exams in high school are considerably more likely to be dishonest later in life, according to a report to be released today by the Josephson Institute of Ethics. The study, which surveyed nearly 7,000 people in various age groups nationwide, offers a sobering assessment of today's youth as cynics who are aware that their behavior crosses boundaries but believe it is necessary to succeed. And the findings suggest that habits formed in childhood persist: Those...

OKLAHOMA CITY — The mother of an Oklahoma boy who says he was locked in apartment closets over four years was charged Thursday with 29 counts of child abuse for allegedly torturing and imprisoning him. snip........ McCall was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in New York in 1996 in the death of her 2-year-old daughter and served six months jail time.

A Palm Bay woman and her boyfriend were arrested Monday for child abuse after the couple went old school to punish their 8-year-old daughter for swearing. They washed her mouth out with soap. We don't know about you, but we would petition President Obama and Congress to make it mandatory for every parent to carry a bar of Irish Spring in their back pockets with all the profanity kids use today.

<>A national survey suggests parents are confused about the risks of the virus and its vaccine. Germ-spreading schoolchildren are expected to be the focus of a massive U.S. vaccination campaign against the novel H1N1 flu. But if their parents are hearing the rallying cry to have their kids vaccinated, they're not buying it, says a new national survey. In a poll of 1,678 U.S. parents conducted by the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, 40% said they would get their children immunized against the H1N1 virus -- even as 54% indicated they will get their kids vaccinated against regular...

Life is a balancing Act. As Baby Boomers, we’re part of the “Sandwich Generation,” walking the tight rope between balancing our own lives with caring for aging parents. Some still have children living at home. Others are also caring for grandchildren. Perhaps, instead, we are the “Club Sandwich Generation,” forcefully squeezed between extra slices of additional responsibility. No matter how many roles you fill, your life is probably a mixture of complicated relationships, communication issues, challenging schedules, frustrations, and joys.

* How is it possible that that woman he claims as mother was taking classes in Seattle 15 days after his supposed birth in Honolulu? * Why wasn't the man we're told was his father there with her? * Why is it that his parents apparently never lived together as husband and wife? Was it a marriage of convenience to establish U.S. residency for a foreigner? Were they, in fact, his real parents? * Why were addresses used by his parents apparently fictitious?

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2009 – This year, as it’s been for the last five, no high school senior graduating from a Department of Defense Education Activity school in Europe will look around wishing a parent could be there as the sound of “Pomp and Circumstance” fills the air. For the sixth year, DoDEA is providing webcasts of graduation ceremonies from 17 European schools. Two of those ceremonies occurred yesterday, another 12 will take place today, and the remaining three will happen tomorrow, June 7 and June 12. When the DoDEA graduation season is complete, about 125 parents deployed to...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The parents of slain Army Ranger and NFL star Pat Tillman voiced concerns Tuesday that the general who played a role in mischaracterizing his death could be put in charge of military operations in Afghanistan. In a brief interview with The Associated Press, Pat Tillman Sr. accused Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal of covering up the circumstances of the 2004 slaying. "I do believe that guy participated in a falsified homicide investigation," Pat Tillman Sr. said.

My columns and other writings have long chronicled the decline of moral values in America. However, I must admit to being absolutely shocked when I read recently that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that nearly 40 percent of U.S. births in 2007 occurred outside of wedlock. It's one thing when teenagers and members of lower socioeconomic classes fall prey to this phenomenon. But the out-of-wedlock birthrate is so high that it suggests a problem spread much wider than could have been imagined. This outrageous number of out-of-wedlock births across age and socioeconomic sectors signal the wholesale...

Public education today is a mess. It has been ruined by parents whose legitimate concern for their kids has been translated into illegitimate interference with the educational process. Aiding and abetting the parents are legislators who have passed laws that empower parents and students at the expense of professional educators, and a judiciary that imposes its will on the educational process without regard for the realities of education. About thirty years ago, it became fashionable to think that everyone who had an opinion about education should weigh in on the appropriate way to teach children. A thriving cottage industry grew...

Power to the parents. Changes to Alberta human rights law will likely include more than just protecting free speech. Parental rights are also said to be a part of the makeover. Provincial government sources tell the Sun the governing Tories are close to giving the green light to a long overdue package of reforms of human rights legislation. We already know changes include no longer using the human rights commission to censor free speech as well as, in writing, a prohibition against discrimination of gays. The commission has investigated sexual orientation discrimination complaints since a Supreme Court ruling in 1998....

Loyal to Liberty In my last post, as I listed areas of life where the imposition of socialist tyranny will produce the enslavement of conscience, I referred to the fact that "Parents will be required, without exception to surrender their children for indoctrination by the state." I'm sure the usual purblind skeptics dismissed the thought as another example of rhetorical hyperbole. Providence came to its defense today in the form of a report out of North Carolina where "a judge has ordered three children to attend public schools this fall because the homeschooling their mother has provided over the last...

An increasing number of Ohio parents are using religious exemptions to delay or refuse for immunizations for children amid fears that vaccines contribute to autism. Ohio Department of Health data shows the number of religious or philosophical exemptions nearly quadrupled in Ohio between 1998 and 2008, though that figure still represents fewer than 1 in 100 children. All states require children to be immunized for school. Most allow religious exemptions, and Ohio and 19 others also permit exemptions for personal reasons. Doctors say they’re concerned that more exemptions could lead to outbreaks of preventable illnesses among children who haven’t had...

Family Research Council recognizes and respects the inherent dignity of every human life from conception (whether by natural or artificial means) until death. FRC desires to help build a culture of life, holding that all human life is a gift to be treasured. The life of every human being is an intrinsic good, not something whose value is conditional upon its usefulness to others or to the state.Threats to human life include abortion, euthanasia, and many new forms of biotechnology. However, human beings need not prove their moral worth by demonstrating sentience, or self-awareness, or a certain level of cognitive...

The state Supreme Court has reversed a lower court’s decision that a Clifton motorist's constitutional rights were violated when police pulled him over for suspected drunken driving based on a phone tip from his daughter. In so doing, it found that the teenage girl’s assessment of “a commonly understood condition” was enough for police to act on it. Two Clifton police officers were dispatched to the home of Clifton resident Paul Amelio on Dec. 11, 2005 about 12:30 a.m. to investigate a domestic disturbance between him and his 17-year-old daughter, according to the Supreme Court decision. The daughter had initially...

While Skype or similar teleconferencing technologies might seem like a more cost-effective and immediately available solution, the Defense Department rejects that possibility. The U.S. Department of Defense is looking to develop virtual parents to comfort children when moms and dads on active duty aren't available to talk. In a solicitation for proposals posted on the department's Small Business Innovation Research Web site, the military says it's seeking to "develop a highly interactive PC- or Web-based application to allow family members to verbally interact with 'virtual' renditions of deployed Service Members." "The child should be able to have a simulated conversation...

Michael Turberville has walked past countless toy shops in recent weeks and speculated wistfully on the presents he might, were circumstances different, buy his son for Christmas. There's the new bicycle, a computer game or two, perhaps even an old-fashioned train set. It remains just wishful thinking, however, because a huge question mark hangs over whether the 41-year-old IT consultant will see his only child at all, let alone over the festive season. In fact, Michael has not laid eyes on seven-year-old Ashley for four years and his relationship with him - if it can be called that - is...

We will Remember: http://www.operationmom.org/ToOurParents.html I saw this outstanding tribute to our Vietnam Vets. I would like to take this time to thank all our Vietnam Vets for their sacrifice. May God bless them all. Please feel free to share this link with Vietnam Vets you may know. We owe them all a great deal of gratitude.

Atlanta, GA (LifeNews.com) -- Victory and Genevieve Patterson may have been able to help their daughter find an alternative to abortion, but they say the Northside Women's Clinic never gave them the chance. They sued the abortion business saying it broke Georgia law by doing an abortion on their daughter without their knowledge or consent.

NEW YORK — In a season that inspires earnest letters about toys, one notable batch is being sent not by kids to Santa's workshop but by parents to the executive suites of real-world toy makers. The message: Please, in these days of economic angst, cut back on marketing your products directly to our children. The letter-writing initiative was launched by the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which says roughly 1,400 of its members and supporters have contacted 24 leading toy companies and retailers to express concern about ads aimed at kids.

"We found this fascinating series of photos from the archives of LIFE magazine, giving readers a peek inside the homes of the parents/grandparents of some of the most influential musical artists from the 1970's, including the likes of Frank Zappa [above], Grace Slick, The Jackson Five, Elton John, Eric Clapton and many more previewed below..."

Driving under the influence charges hit both the father and mother of a 1-year-old who was in the vehicle when his mother was arrested early Saturday morning. At 12:45 a.m., Indiana State Police Trooper Fred Blohm stopped a 1996 Dodge mini van for speeding in the westbound 4000 block of U.S. 30. The driver of the van, Kelli M. Thompson, 24, of Crown Point was allegedly intoxicated and had her 1-year-old son in the vehicle with her, police said. Thompson called for the child's father, Robert A. Dereamer, 23, of Merrillville, to pick the boy up and police discovered he,...

Parents are to be fingerprinted when they pick their children up from nursery school, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. Up to 50 nurseries and playgroups have already signed up for the new security measures, thought to be the first time parents have been targetted in this way. Civil libertarians have branded the decision a "huge overeaction". The new entry system requires people who collect their children to place their finger on a scanner, to make sure that only nominated individuals can get through secure entrances. Kidsunlimited, the nursery chain, will be rolling out the new technology to its 50 playgroups....

I don't won't to spread my wealth around to someone without a brain. I also think it a good object lesson of stealing or spreading the wealth around socialism. Also, Hope you can pay for gas in your car, insurance, books, room and board, etc. I think if parents who are not supporting Obama put their foot down it could have a big impact.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Child welfare officials in Nebraska said 11 children -- nine from one father -- were abandoned at hospitals in the state Wednesday night under the state's unique safe haven law. On Wednesday night, one father left his five boys and four girls, ages 1 to 17, at a hospital emergency room. Two unrelated boys ages 11 and 15 were dropped off at another hospital. One of the boys was placed in foster care and the other is still at the hospital undergoing evaluation, reported KETV-TV. Five of the nine siblings who were abandoned Wednesday have been placed...

Parents Curse Behavioral LessonWednesday, September 24, 2008 | 12:42 AM By Corin Hoggard Fresno, CA, USA (KFSN) -- A lesson in profanity at one Fresno middle school has created controversy and upset parents. Instead of math and English, the 12- and 13- and 14-year-olds at Tioga middle school learned about words that might make some adults blush. During the first week of school, the kids got a lesson on words they shouldn't use, including terms for oral sex and prostitution. The teachers and kids were focused on behavioral expectations instead of the normal subjects, but some parents say the way...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2008 – When Rosita, a Sesame Street Muppet, showed up at John Tyler Elementary School here today, she had a flashlight, batteries, a shiny new radio and a message for about two dozen of the school’s pre-kindergarteners: “Be prepared.” Sesame Street Muppet Rosita listens to pre-kindergarteners from John Tyler Elementary School in Washington on Sept. 17, 2008. After presenting Sesame Workshop CEO Gary E. Knell (left) with items found in emergency kits, she introduced the video included in "Let's Get Ready! Planning Together for Emergencies," an emergency preparedness kit. Defense Dept. photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The state is warning parents delinquent on child support payments that they risk losing drivers licenses, professional licenses and hunting and fishing licenses if they don't pay. A news release from the Department of Human Services Tuesday says letters are being delivered to parents across the state behind at least $500 and haven't made a payment in more than 90 days. More than 7,000 licenses were revoked last year for failure to pay, and there are more than 20,000 licenses currently at risk. Professional licenses that could be revoked include those of registered nurses, real estate agents,...

This is a letter we wrote today to the parents of Sarah Palin, Chuck and Sally Heath, in Wasilla, Alaska: Dear Mr. and Mrs. Heath, We were among the forty million Americans who witnessed Governor Palin's entry onto the national stage last week. As parents of four, we could not help but sense the solemn pride that must be yours to have made such an exceptional contribution to our country. At the conclusion of President Lincoln's service to his nation, his Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, observed, "Now he belongs to the ages." At the conclusion of Governor Palin's...

This is a letter we wrote today to the parents of Sarah Palin, Chuck and Sally Heath, in Wasilla, Alaska: Dear Mr. and Mrs. Heath, We were among the forty million Americans who witnessed Governor Palin's entry onto the national stage last week. As parents of four, we could not help but sense the solemn pride that must be yours to have made such an exceptional contribution to our country. At the conclusion of President Lincoln's service to his nation, his Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, observed, "Now he belongs to the ages." At the conclusion of Governor Palin's...

The youngsters are among almost 5,000 residents who in some cases are being offered £500 rewards if they provide evidence of minor infractions. One in six councils contacted by the Telegraph said they had signed up teams of "environment volunteers" who are being encouraged to photograph or video neighbours guilty of dog fouling, littering or "bin crimes". The "covert human intelligence sources", as some local authorities describe them, are also being asked to pass on the names of neighbours they believe to be responsible, or take down their number-plates. Ealing Council in West London said: "There are hundreds of Junior...

Caption this photo  Chuck Heath, right, and his wife, Sally, watch in their home in Wasilla, AK, as their daughter, Sarah Palin, was chosen by John McCain as his running mate and choice for vice president.

An estimated 809,800 prisoners of the 1,518,535 held in the nation’s prison at midyear 2007 were parents of minor children, according to a report by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Parents in prison — 52 percent of state inmates and 63 percent of federal inmates — reported having an estimated 1,706,600 minor children. Among state inmates, the percent of parents in prison decreased from 55 percent in 1997 but has remained stable for federal inmates.

An annual survey from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York reported that parents are clueless when it comes to their teenagers’ behavior, which contributes to their drug and alcohol abuse, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. According to the survey: It is easier for teenagers to obtain prescription drugs than beer; Forty-two percent of teenagers said they can buy marijuana in one day or less; One-quarter of teenagers said they know a parent of a classmate or a friend who uses marijuana; Of the teenagers surveyed who do drink, almost 30 percent...

SPRING HILL, Fla. -- A Gulf Coast man was charged with murder after he said he gave his 15-year-old son powerful prescription drugs because he wanted the boy to know "how to party right." Steven Alfano was charged with third-degree murder after son Vincent died of an accidental overdose in June. Witnesses said the 47-year-old Spring Hill man showed his son how to crush and snort pills like the painkiller oxycodone and the heroin substitute methadone. Alfano was arrested Friday and is being held without bail in the Hernando County Jail. Officials did not know if he had a lawyer....

Pros Parents can monitor their children at school Teachers are less likely to pursue a hidden agenda Greater control of bullying Incompetent teachers can be identified Overall classroom behavior likely to improve Cons I don't see any

...Karin Miller, 43, a stay-at-home mother during the school year with a doctorate in psychology, who is redefining the role of camp counselor. She counsels parents, spending her days from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. printing out reams of e-mail messages to deliver to Bryn Mawr’s 372 female campers and leaving voice mail messages for their parents that always begin, “Nothing’s wrong, I’m just returning your call.” Jill Tipograph, a camp consultant, said most high-end sleep-away camps in the Northeast now employ full-time parent liaisons like Ms. Miller......The liaisons are emblematic of what sleep-away camp experts say is an increasing...

The parents of a teenager girl who became a homicide victim when Andrea Curry-Demus, 38, allegedly sliced open her stomach and stole her unborn child say they forgive her. The parents of 18-year-old Kia Johnson spoke at her funeral on Friday after her body was found in Curry-Demus' apartment. "I forgive her for the simple fact that if she wouldn't have took the baby to the hospital, we would not have been able to find our daughter," Johnson's mother Darlene said. "She's going to be missed by everyone," her mother said. "Kia was a special child. An AP report indicated...

Are you a "kid-sick" parent? If so, have hope. You've been diagnosed. And all you need is a good "parent-ectomy" to cheer you up. The Associated Press reported July 12 that many American parents are afflicted with a malady some experts dub "kid-sickness." Contrary to what you might think, this "sickness" is not about parents who are sick of their kids. It's about parents who actually want to spend time with their kids. And it's considered an ailment needing a cure. This summer, more than 10 million children are attending recreational camps across America. And according to Boston-based family therapist...

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2008 – Hundreds of military family members will gather next week for Marine Parents United’s 5th Annual Marine Family Conference, where they’ll have opportunities aimed at helping them better understand military life. “The conference will provide educational and social opportunities to encourage attendees to both understand and support their Marine and the commitment he [or] she made to the [Marine Corps],” said Joyce Gilmour, the organization’s treasurer. The conference fulfills Marine Parents United’s mission statement of hosting an annual educational and networking conference to offer guidance to Marine families, though each year’s event is open to...

MONTREAL, June 18 (UPI) -- An appeal will be filed in a Montreal court after a Quebec judge overruled a father who grounded his 12-year-old daughter for dangerous Internet use. The lawyer for the father, who can't be identified to protect the girl, told The Gazette newspaper that Justice Suzanne Tessier overstepped the court's bounds last Friday when she ruled in favor of the girl's legal challenge and said she would be allowed to go on a school trip her father had forbidden because of misbehavior. "I don't think this tribunal was the proper forum for a decision like this...

In the third week of June 1972, Richard Milhous Nixon committed an injustice with which the Western world is still struggling. Yes, two men broke into the Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate building - but we're no longer bothered about that. What still affects us today - or rather tomorrow - is that the then President that week brought the American nation together by making Father's Day a public holiday. For this high crime and misdemeanour, his name should live on in the annals of infamy. Now, of course, it's over here. It's just like Hallowe'en - another American...

WIESBADEN, Germany, May 20, 2008 – Hundreds of troops deployed from Europe will be able to see their children’s high school graduation ceremonies via live webcasts, Department of Defense Dependents Schools Europe officials announced. DoDDS Europe, U.S. Army Europe and U.S. Army 5th Signal Command have combined assets, talents and technologies to enable the live webcasts. The effort will allow at least 18 graduation ceremonies to be viewed by an estimated 211 deployed parents in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations around the world. The first graduation ceremony will be webcast June 5; 10 graduation ceremonies will take place simultaneously on...