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Video: Obama and GOP meeting and how did it go.

Republican press conference after meeting with President Obama. You can also watch Republican Senate leaders press conference of 4 minutes concerning the meeting and more here as it is not embeddable yet.



President Obama press conference after meeting with Republicans is not yet embeddable but you can find his comments at CSPAN here. You can also watch Democrat Senate leader press conference of about 6 minutes here as it is not embeddable yet either.

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President Obama moves a bit to the center by proposing a pay freeze for federal employees to save some 30 billion over the next 5 years but will this Democrat led Congress agree to pass it.

Better than what we normally here. Go to about 5:15 into the video.



Also see As the tax paying private sector jobs are being lost the tax payer funded federal employees 6 figure incomes explode during recession and Are public servants really servants of the public? and Chart : The private sector can not keep bailing out the public sector and conservatives are for the little man in spite of liberal claims to the contrary and CNSNews.com reports that tax payers paid federal workers more than $400 million to stay home on last week's snow days

The conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation applauds our President for taking this step but has some caution included. In an article titled Morning Bell: Don’t Let Obama Pay Plan Freeze Real Reform:

The campaign to paper over President Barack Obama’s big government tax-and-spend record with symbolic political triangulation has begun.

Yesterday, ahead of today’s meeting with House and Senate Republicans, President Obama attempted to preempt conservative calls for smaller government by announcing a Federal Employee Pay Freeze, which the White House says would save $2 billion over the rest of this fiscal year and $28 billion in cumulative savings over the next five years.
While the President’s political motivations are transparent to all, he should be congratulated on policy grounds for making two key concessions to reality: (1) that, as Heritage research has definitively shown, federal workers are paid more than their private sector counterparts even after accounting for skills and education; and (2) that our federal budget deficits are driven by a spending problem, not a revenue problem. That said, however, conservatives should be vigilant to make sure that the President’s federal pay proposals serve only as the beginning of negotiations and not as a false solution that prevents real federal pay reform next year.

A fact underreported by most newspapers today is that President Obama cannot freeze federal pay unilaterally. He is going to need Congress to act on his proposal, which calls for the freeze to begin effective January 1. This simply is not going to happen. Democrats still control both chambers of Congress, and the Democratic Party is controlled by government unions, which uniformly blasted the plan yesterday. With just one month left on the calendar to go, taking money away from the Democratic Party’s most powerful special interest group is just not going to make it onto an already very busy lame duck agenda.

Furthermore, President Obama’s freeze is really just a partial freeze that applies only to 2011 and 2012 cost of living increases. Most federal employees will still receive seniority-based pay increases over the next two years, and no one’s federal benefits will be affected. And those federal benefits are a big reason why federal worker compensation is so out of whack with private sector reality. As The Heritage Foundation’s James Sherk has extensively detailed, federal pay gives the average federal employee 30–40 percent greater total compensation (wages and benefits) than a comparable private sector worker. Worse, the current federal pay system does little to reward performance. As a result, the federal government is both overpaying underperforming workers and underpaying the most skilled federal employees.

A much more fundamental reform of federal compensation practices is needed. Congress should replace the General Schedule with pay-for-performance systems tied to market compensation, federal benefits should be brought in line with private sector norms, and the federal retirement age should be raised from 56 to the Social Security retirement age. These reforms would bring real savings to the American taxpayer. President Obama’s partial pay freeze would save only $28 billion over five years. Sherk’s federal pay reforms would save taxpayers $47 billion every year. Which alternative do you think the American people voted for this November?

Quick Hits:


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Jill Stanek: 31 abortion clinics have closed in past 12 months.

JillStanek.com reports that 31 US abortion clinics have closed in past 12 months.

"It has seemed to me an awful lot of abortion mills have been closing lately (for instance, here and here).

So Cheryl Sullenger of Operation Rescue was kind enough to compile a list for us.

OR keeps the most accurate and up-to-date record of active and closed abortion mills I’m aware of.
Cheryl tallied a whopping 31 abortion mills that have closed just this past year. Meanwhile, 9 new mills have opened. So there has been a net loss of 22, which is great.

As of now a total of 689 surgical abortion clinics remain in the US, from a high of almost 2,200 in 1991, according to OR. (This number does not include abortion mills that solely commit medical abortions, i.e., distribute the abortion pill, RU-486.)

As OR writes, “The pro-life movement should take encouragement in the fact that since 1991 over two-thirds of all abortion clinics have permanently closed.”
Read the list of 31 closed clinics here."

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Video: Newly elected Susana Martinez visits Susanna Martinez at school



Related: NM Election Results: Susana Martinez becomes first Hispanic Female Governor in the US

For the most part Susana Martinez has received positive local news coverage here in New Mexico. From Primaries to the election and now the above video after the election as has new Republican Mayor of Albuquerque Richard Berry. For more on Berry see Richard Berry the newly elected Republican Mayor of Albuquerque has cut government salary of higher up positions by 9% or $776,000 in first 5 months of office. and/or Republican Mayor Richard Berry featured in the New York Times, Fox News and local news for cutting the size of Government and clamping down on 150 illegal immigrants.

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NM conservative group makes suggestion on how to balance the $450 million deficit in New Mexico

Also see New Mexico budget deficit grows from $80 million to $450 million in 4 months.



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Nigel Farage speech before the EU condemning the EU "Who the hell do you think you people are?".

Yikes!!!



This reminds me a lot of Daniel Hannan's criticism of the EU and Gordon Brown in speech from a couple of years ago which was and may still be the #2 Top Rated Video of All Time on YouTube in the UK in the category of News and Politics . Double Yikes...



For more from Daniel Hannan check out Recent video: Daniel Hannan warns America and his most recent speech and book written to America

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To the degree that Democrats attribute success to TARP Bush reminds the American people that happened under his watch.



Bush plain and simple on the Bush tax cuts that will be debated this week in the Lame Duck session.



Also see Tax breaks for the wealthy does boost the economy and keeps the reins on one of Big Government's biggest excuses and Why higher income earners should not be overtaxed? and Video: Will extending tax cuts to the rich increase the debt by $700 billion? and Video: Texas vs California in the Economic World Series and PHD economist Jeffrey A Miron from MIT explains: Why the Bush Tax Cuts Worked in the New York Times and Should we slander the rich merely because they are rich? Not according to Jesus.... 

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HIV levels soaring past 80's levels in first country to legalize gay marriage. Hate Crimes down in the US. The Pilgrims and Scrooby, England. Approval ratings for Republican leaders up.

Last Week In Review

Headlines


The Pilgrims and Scrooby, England and more..

Video: Thank the Lord for property rights that the Pilgrims experienced to their benefit

Video: Home of the Pilgrim Fathers in Scrooby, England

Pilgrims came to America not only to bring the gospel and for religious liberty but concern for their children according to William Bradford

Abraham Lincoln vs Barack Obama in Thanksgiving Day Proclamations


Hate Crimes down....

Latest FBI Hate Crime reports covering more of the American population than ever before and yet still shows hate crimes are down and at lowest level since 1995


HIV in gay friendly Netherlands rising to worse levels than in the 80's

HIV infections soaring among gay men in first country to legalize gay marriage the Netherlands


Finally an approval rating on the rise...

Republican House and Senate leader ratings are up

American Remembrance

Video: American Exceptionalism

Entertainment

Video: Tim Tebow Documentary trailer

Videos

Video: Check out LifeNews.com and LifeSiteNews.com as they have upgraded their web sites.

Video: 2000+ aborted babies found in Buddhist temple

Video: Governor Bobby Jindal for president? Watch his recent interview on CBNNews.com.

Faith and Family Philanthropy

Those who attend church are much more likely than those who don't to be charitable

First Amendment Case Victories

Montana Supreme Court rules that Renee Griffith's First Amendment Rights were violated by school that wouldn't let her use God or Christ in her Valedictorian speech

Teacher fired over in California over heredity of affects of homosexuality wins $100,000 settlement

Christmasophobia

Is the war on Christmas over?

Education

School choice in Canada places Alberta students 2nd in the world in Science and 3rd and 5th in Reading and Math

Economy and Taxes

Tax breaks for the wealthy does boost the economy and keeps the reins on one of Big Government's biggest excuses

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Those who attend church are much more likely than those who don't to be charitable

The Iona Institute has this post title Religious people most charitable says study in which they say:

"According to the research, 40 per cent of worship-attending Americans volunteer regularly to help the poor and elderly, compared with 15 per cent of Americans who never attend services.

Those who frequently attend religious services are also more likely than the never-attenders to volunteer for school and youth programs (36 per cent compared to 15 per cent), a neighbourhood or civic group (26 per cent compared to 13 per cent), and for health care (21 per cent vs. 13 per cent).

The data also shows that religious Americans give more money to secular causes than do secular Americans, backing up previous research showing that religious people tend to be more generous givers to charity than secular people.

The divide also holds true for good deeds such as helping someone find a job, donating blood, and spending time with someone who is feeling depressed."

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Video: Tim Tebow Documentary trailer



So how is Tim Tebow doing in the NFL? He is not getting much playing time as he is back up to a quarterback that is doing well. But below are his two first touchdowns and first touchdown pass. As you watch below also check out Video: Tim Tebow stumps reporter's question on whether or not he is saving himself for marriage and Tim Tebow and God's Providence and for much more see label Tim Tebow

Found below videos at TimTebow.com.


Tim's First NFL Touchdown from Tim Tebow on Vimeo.


Tim Tebow’s Second NFL Touchdown from Tim Tebow on Vimeo.


Tim's first NFL touchdown pass from Tim Tebow on Vimeo.

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Video: American Exceptionalism



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Montana Supreme Court rules that Renee Griffith's First Amendment Rights were violated by school that wouldn't let her use God or Christ in her Valedictorian speech

This is an update to post titled See complaint filed in the courts against Butte High School in Montana for censoring Renee Griffith's valedictorian speech...

From Religion Clause....

Montana High Court OK's Valedictorian's Religious References

In a 6-1 decision last week, the Montana Supreme Court held that school officials violated the free speech rights of a graduating senior when it censored on the basis of viewpoint her proposed valedictory remarks.  In Griffith v. Butte School District No. 1, (MT Sup. Ct., Nov. 19, 2010), school officials objected to the religious references in following passage in the prepared remarks of one of the co-valedictorians:

I learned to persevere these past four years, even through failure orndiscouragement, when I had to stand for my convictions. I can say that my regrets are few and far between. I didn’t let fear keep me from sharing Christ and His joy with those around me. I learned to impart hope, to encourage people to treat each day as a gift. I learned not to be known for my grades or for what I did during school, but for being committed to my faith and morals and being someone who lived with a purpose from God with a passionate love for Him.
The majority rejected any Establishment Clause conerns about the propoed seech, saying:
We find it unreasonable for the School District to conclude that Griffith’s cursory references to her personal religious beliefs could be viewed by those in attendance at the BHS graduation ceremony as a religious endorsement by the School District.
Justice Leaphart dissenting argued that the student's proposed remarks created Establishmnet Clause concerns:
Attendance at high school graduation is compulsory. The speakers chosen by the school clearly have a “captive” audience. The student body of a public school is presumably very diverse with a mix of Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, and agnostics, many of whom would resent being required to attend a ceremony in which Christ and His Joy was being shared with those present in the captive audience.
The Missolian reports on the decision.

Bold is mine. The dissenter was somewhat funny. He may have regretted wording it that way!!!

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Also see Ronald Reagan's Christmas speech from the White House during his presidency and his speech from 1983 on Lighting the National Community Christmas Tree.

MSNBC reports in a post titled In 'The War on Christmas,' Christmas is winning

"The War on Christmas may be in its final days.

This season, merry Christmas — not happy holidays or season's greetings — will dominate retailer's marketing messages. There will be Christmas sales and Christmas trees and Christmas carols galore.

That has the American Family Association, arguably one of the loudest voices advocating the use of Christmas in retailer's marketing messages over the past few years, predicting that its crusade could conclude in the next year or two.

Randy Sharp, director-special projects at the AFA, said that in the past five years the group has seen the percentage of retailers recognizing Christmas in their advertising rise from 20 percent to 80 percent. Just eight retailers are left on the group's list of "Companies Against Christmas."

...."We've had a complete flip," Mr. Sharp says. "The politically correct holiday verbiage is going away. Companies are getting the message."

Indeed, retailers that have found themselves the target of boycotts or media and consumer scrutiny have responded swiftly in recent years. Lowe's "Family Trees" were renamed "Christmas Trees," while Walmart's "Holiday Shop" is now a "Christmas Shop." Midway through the 2005 holiday season, Target, facing a boycott, announced its advertising messages would become more specific and include references to Christmas. And last year, Gap responded to a boycott by issuing a press release highlighting the use of the phrase "Merry Christmas" in its upcoming Old Navy ads.

....Plenty view the tactics of the AFA and other groups as bullying, but Mr. Sharp rejects that. "It's not bullying, it's consumer advocacy," he said. The AFA's stance is that retailers should not profit from Christmas, if they refuse to clearly acknowledge it. "When your advertising has trees and ornaments and gift wrapping, you're advertising Christmas, so don't call it holiday," Mr. Sharp said, adding that the group is not at all offended by Happy Hanukkah messages."

Found image of Merry Christmas .

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Latest FBI Hate Crime reports covering more of the American population than ever before and yet still shows hate crimes are down and at lowest level since 1995

Citizenlink.org has this excellent break down of the new FBI report on hate crimes in a post titled FBI’s ‘Hate Crimes’ Report Once Again Dispels Myths.

First they point out that "Total number of reporting agencies participating in the annual report – way up – from 13,690 to 14,422" and that "This latter figure covers a population of 278,948,317, almost the entire country.  You might expect that with the highest number ever of law enforcement agencies participating in the FBI’s reporting process, there would be higher raw numbers of incidents in all categories. However, the opposite proved to be true for 2009."

"Total hate crime incidents – down – from 7783 to 6604" and "Actually this year’s number is the lowest annual number the FBI has on its website, with reports going back to 1995." Of these 6604 only 2600 were categorized as violent.

"Total number of sexual orientation hate crime incidents (including violent and non-violent) – down – from 1297 to 1223". Only one murder related to sexual orientation which is down 4 from the prior report.

"The reduction in sexual orientation hate crimes is even stranger when you consider that the increasing demand by gay activists for more prosecutions has resulted in such bizarre examples as mortgage fraud and gay-on-gay violence being treated as “hate” crimes

As I’ve said before, the Matthew Shepard Act was a feel-good political act and a redundant criminal law, and together with its chilling effects on our First Amendment freedoms, is one of the poorest examples of federal legislation I have seen."

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Video: Thank the Lord for property rights that the Pilgrims experienced to their benefit

Thou shalt not steal.



Related: The Pilgrims tried a form of communism? And if so did it work for them?
William Bradford, our Pilgrim Fathers and where the Pilgrims got the name Pilgrim from.

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Video: Home of the Pilgrim Fathers in Scrooby, England

Journey to Scrooby - A Thanksgiving Pilgrimage from Vision Forum on Vimeo.


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Abraham Lincoln vs Barack Obama in Thanksgiving Day Proclamations

Barack Obama. Not bad. Found below proclamation here.

THANKSGIVING DAY, 2010

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

A beloved American tradition, Thanksgiving Day offers us the opportunity to focus our thoughts on the grace that has been extended to our people and our country. This spirit brought together the newly arrived Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe – who had been living and thriving around Plymouth, Massachusetts for thousands of years – in an autumn harvest feast centuries ago. This Thanksgiving Day, we reflect on the compassion and contributions of Native Americans, whose skill in agriculture helped the early colonists survive, and whose rich culture continues to add to our Nation's heritage. We also pause our normal pursuits on this day and join in a spirit of fellowship and gratitude for the year's bounties and blessings.

Thanksgiving Day is a time each year, dating back to our founding, when we lay aside the troubles and disagreements of the day and bow our heads in humble recognition of the providence bestowed upon our Nation. Amidst the uncertainty of a fledgling experiment in democracy, President George Washington declared the first Thanksgiving in America, recounting the blessings of tranquility, union, and plenty that shined upon our young country. In the dark days of the Civil War when the fate of our Union was in doubt, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a Thanksgiving Day, calling for "the Almighty hand" to heal and restore our Nation.

In confronting the challenges of our day, we must draw strength from the resolve of previous generations who faced their own struggles and take comfort in knowing a brighter day has always dawned on our great land. As we stand at the close of one year and look to the promise of the next, we lift up our hearts in gratitude to God for our many blessings, for one another, and for our Nation. This Thanksgiving Day, we remember that the freedoms and security we enjoy as Americans are protected by the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces. These patriots are willing to lay down their lives in our defense, and they and their families deserve our profound gratitude for their service and sacrifice.

This harvest season, we are also reminded of those experiencing the pangs of hunger or the hardship of economic insecurity. Let us return the kindness and generosity we have seen throughout the year by helping our fellow citizens weather the storms of our day.

As Americans gather for the time-honored Thanksgiving Day meal, let us rejoice in the abundance that graces our tables, in the simple gifts that mark our days, in the loved ones who enrich our lives, and in the gifts of a gracious God. Let us recall that our forebears met their challenges with hope and an unfailing spirit, and let us resolve to do the same.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 25, 2010, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all the people of the United States to come together – whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place of fellowship for friends and neighbors – to give thanks for all we have received in the past year, to express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own, and to share our bounty with others.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA

Now for Abraham Lincoln as he takes it a bit further by confessing God's goodness even in light of our sinfulness. This is the Thanksgiving Proclamation that set the precedent for America's national day of Thanksgiving. What a precedent and what a proclamation. Bold is mine. Found this proclamation here.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

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HIV infections soaring among gay men in first country to legalize gay marriage the Netherlands

Does the legalization of gay marriages as the Netherlands was the first country to do so actually help in HIV prevention? Some 10 years later the answer is clearer than ever before and it only gets worse.

DutchNews reports that "The HIV infection rate amongst gay men is soaring, according to new figures from the HIV monitoring foundation.

While the infection rate amongst heterosexuals is falling, some 850 gay men are infected every year, more than during the beginning of epidemic in the early 1980s, the foundation said...."

Here is link to the press release of the report. Unfortunately the report itself is in Dutch. But it opens up with:

"HIV infections in the Netherlands higher than ever
On 23 November, 2010, the Stichting HIV Monitoring (SHM) will present its 2010 Monitoring Report during the Netherlands Conference on Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment of HIV (NCHIV).The most striking finding in the report is that the spread of HIV amongst homosexual men in the Netherlands is currently higher than at the start of the epidemic in the early 1980's."

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Teacher fired over in California over heredity of affects of homosexuality wins $100,000 settlement

Fired Calif. professor exonerated in settlement of lawsuit against San Jose college district

Case settles after court affirms teachers’ First Amendment rights in the classroom
Thursday, July 22, 2010

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys have reached a settlement with the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District in a lawsuit filed on behalf of a biology professor. Professor June Sheldon was fired after objectively answering a student’s in-class question simply because a different student claimed to be “offended” by her answer, even though it comported with the official class curriculum and a district policy on academic freedom.

ADF attorneys agreed to dismiss the suit because the district has agreed to remove Sheldon’s termination from her record and pay her $100,000 for lost work. The district argued that its professors have no free speech rights in the classroom, but a federal court rejected that argument and determined that “a teacher’s instructional speech is protected by the First Amendment.” Sheldon is now teaching at a different college.

“Professors shouldn’t be fired simply for doing their jobs as educators. Professionally addressing both sides of an academic issue according to the class curriculum is not grounds for dismissal; it’s what a professor is supposed to do,” said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel David J. Hacker.  “This is a favorable settlement for Ms. Sheldon, but we remain concerned, for the sake of all faculty members, about the district’s view of academic freedom, as expressed in court, in contradiction to its policy.”

Sheldon, an experienced adjunct professor who taught a human heredity course at San Jose City College, answered a student’s inquiry in June 2007 about how heredity affects homosexual behavior. She briefly introduced positions on both sides of the issue that was to be explored in a later class. In her response, she cited the class textbook, as well as the research of a well-known German scientist referred to by a website provided in the textbook, explaining that the issue is currently being debated in the scientific community. The school launched an investigation after a different student lodged an informal complaint that deemed Sheldon’s comments “offensive and unscientific.” Sheldon was recommended for removal from the adjunct seniority rehire preference list and terminated by the district’s board of trustees in February 2008.

The district’s “Academic Freedom” policy states, “The common good depends on the free search for truth and its free expression; to this end, faculty and students hold the right of full freedom of inquiry and expression. Academic freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.  Freedom is fundamental to the protection of the rights of the teacher in teaching and of the student in learning.... The instructor has the right to study and investigate, interpret his/her findings and express resulting conclusions to students.... Because human knowledge is limited and changeable, the instructor may present views which are controversial and evaluate opinions held by others while simultaneously respecting and valuing their right of their free expression.”

At the same time, the district argued in a brief that Sheldon “is an employee and does not have a First Amendment cause of action for the Defendants’ regulation of her in-class speech” and that the district “must be able to control the in class conduct and speech of those teachers.”

ADF attorneys filed the lawsuit Sheldon v. Dhillon in June 2008 with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. Kevin Snider and Matt McReynolds of Pacific Justice Institute, two of nearly 1,800 attorneys in the ADF alliance, also represented Sheldon in the suit.
  • ADF University Project website
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.

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Pilgrims came to America not only to bring the gospel and for religious liberty but concern for their children according to William Bradford

William Bradford who was a Governor of the Plymouth Plantation wrote down various reasons why the Pilgrims came to America. Most know it was due to Religious liberty and to bring the gospel to America but as I was reading his account of his reasons why to my children before bed time it was interesting to note that it was also out of concern for their children and families.

William Bradford names 4 reasons why the Pilgrims left Holland and here is William Bradford in his own words on the 3rd and 4th reasons they left (you can click here and scroll down to Chapter IV to read for yourself from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign):

"Thirdly. As necessity was a taskmaster over them so they were forced to be such, not only to their servants but in a sort to their dearest children, the which as it did not a little wound the tender hearts of many a loving father and mother, so it produced likewise sundry sad and sorrowful effects. For many of their children that were of best dispositions and gracious inclinations, having learned 4 to bear the yoke in their youth and willing to bear part of their parents' burden, were oftentimes so oppressed with their heavy labours that though their minds were free and willing, yet their bodies bowed under the weight of the same, and became decrepit in their early youth, the vigour of nature being consumed in the very bud as it were. But that which was more lamentable, and of all sorrows most heavy to be borne, was that many of their children, by these occasions and the great licentiousness of youth in that country,5 and the manifold temptations of the place, were drawn away by evil examples into extravagant and dangerous courses, getting the reins off their necks and departing from their parents. Some became soldiers, others took upon them far voyages by sea, and others some worse courses tending to dissoluteness and the danger of their souls, to the great grief of their parents and dishonour of God. So that they saw their posterity would be in danger to degenerate and be corrupted. 6

Lastly (and which was not least), a great hope and inward zeal they had of laying some good foundation, or at least to make some way "hereunto, for the propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world; yea, though they should be but even as stepping-stones unto others for the performing of so great a work.

These and some other like reasons moved them to undertake this resolution of their removal; the which they afterward prosecuted with so great difficulties, as by the sequel will appear."

And foot note 6 from above states that by 1660 those who stayed in Holland lost all identity of their roots: "6 Both Nathaniel Morton in New Englands Memoriall p. 3, and Edward Winslow in Hypocrisie Unmasked p.89 stressed the fear of the Pilgrims lest their children lose their language and nationality. And their fear of the Dutch "melting pot" was well taken; for the offspring of those English Puritans who did not emigrate to New England or return to England became completely amalgamated with the local population by 1660."

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Republican House and Senate leader ratings are up

Rasmussen poll shows Boehner and McConnell the two Republican leaders in the House and Senate favorable ratings are up above their unfavorable ratings.

Boehner 41% to 39% Favorable and McConnell 38% to 36% Favorable. Even though Pelosi and Reid's favorables are up they are still well behind. Pelosi is 38% to 57% Unfavorable and Reid 33% to 51% Unfavorable.

VVN has been keeping a tab on the GOP with a new label titled GOP Watch. Here are some reasons why the leaders of the Republican party favorables are up see Breaking: Mitch McConnell announces support for earmark ban!!! and GOP gets to work: House Republicans Move to Have Public Cameras Installed in Powerful Rules Committee and Video: GOP transition team press conference to make the People's House of Representatives more transparent to the American people

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School choice in Canada places Alberta students 2nd in the world in Science and 3rd and 5th in Reading and Math

School Choice in Canada: Lessons for America

In Canada, the province of Alberta has long encouraged school choice.  Historically, Alberta has had two school systems between which parents may choose: the "public" system and a "separate" system.

Other Alberta choices include charter, private and French-language schools.  Homeschooling is encouraged and supported by the provincial government, and "blended" programs are available where children can take some courses at home and others at school.  This large variety of educational choice has led to positive results.
  • In 2006, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) placed Alberta's students second in the world (up from fourth) in science (the focus subject for the 2006 tests).
  • Alberta was also the only province whose overall science score, as well as each individual test score, was significantly higher than the Canadian average.
  • In the two minor areas of study tested that year, reading and math, Alberta tied for third and fifth in the world, respectively.
  • Immigrant children have scored equal to or better than native children -- a result that within Canada occurred only in Alberta and was a unique result for PISA.
The relevant lesson for American policymakers is that widespread educational choice has kept public schools more accountable, encouraged competition in the delivery of quality education, and entrenched a culture and expectation of school choice in Alberta.

Because of constitutional and other differences between the United States and Canada, several of Alberta's choice-based options would not translate into the context of American states.  But the key aspect of Alberta's school system that can be copied anywhere is the climate of choice that the province has long encouraged.  American policymakers should consider:
  • Legislation that allows schools and school boards to create alternative education programs that emphasize a particular subject matter -- for example, some public schools that specialize in music, others in art.
  • Explicit legislative support for a wide variety of schooling options.
  • "Opt-out" provisions that allow parents to choose what subject matter their children will be exposed to when a question of conscience arises.
Source: Mark Milke, "School Choice in Canada: Lessons for America," Heritage Foundation, November 8, 2010.
For text:
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/11/School-Choice-in-Canada-Lessons-for-America
For more on Education Issues:
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=27

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Tax breaks for the wealthy does boost the economy and keeps the reins on one of Big Government's biggest excuses

Also see Why higher income earners should not be overtaxed? and Video: Will extending tax cuts to the rich increase the debt by $700 billion? and Video: Texas vs California in the Economic World Series and PHD economist Jeffrey A Miron from MIT explains: Why the Bush Tax Cuts Worked in the New York Times and Should we slander the rich merely because they are rich? Not according to Jesus.... 

Tax Breaks for the Wealthy Do Boost Economy

A political fight has erupted over the fate of the top income tax bracket rate and the tax rate on dividends and capital gains, say Alex Brill, a research fellow, and Chad Hill, a Jacobs Associate, at the American Enterprise Institute.

One particularly troubling idea that has emerged is summed up by a recent statement by President Obama, who argued, "These [high-income taxpayers] are folks who are less likely to spend the money, which is why economists don't think tax breaks for the wealthy would do much to boost the economy."

However, saving is not the practice of the wealthy stashing money under plump mattresses.
  • Rather, when we save, we defer consumption to the future, allowing our savings to be invested in productive ways that lead to long-term economic growth.
  • In short, my savings account is your investment fund.
  • Our collective savings are the funds available for investing in stocks, bonds and other securities that allow businesses access to the capital they need to grow.
  • Firms use these funds to start or expand businesses and to buy machinery and other physical capital.
The logic espoused by this spending-cult mentality denies the role of saving, or, at the very least, relegates it to the backseat.
  • Because much of the savings that can drive investment and economic growth over time comes from the relatively small fraction of individuals in the top income tax bracket, permitting a tax increase on high-income earners would be a significant disincentive for savings.
  • Alan Viard of the American Enterprise Institute recently cited Internal Revenue Service data for 2007 revealing that households with incomes above $200,000 received 47 percent of the taxable interest income, 60 percent of the dividends and a staggering 84 percent of the net capital gains reported on tax returns.
Consumer spending has its place, but it is not the answer to every economic question.  By disparaging investment and in particular the taxpayers who account for most of that investment, Congress is biting the hand that feeds long-run economic growth, say Brill and Hill.

Source: Alex Brill and Chad Hill, "Tax Breaks for the Wealthy Do Boost Economy," Forbes, October 27, 2010.
For text:
http://www.forbes.com/2010/10/27/taxes-wealthy-economy-opinions-contributors-alex-brill-chad-hill.html?boxes=opinionschannellatest
For more on Taxes:
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=20

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Here is a video promo of LifeSiteNews.com new site.



Here is link to LifeNews.com. The difference between the two sites will become evident as you will notice LifeSiteNews.com does a great job in reporting international pro-life news whereas LifeNews.com reports more on pro-life news in the US. They both have their weaknesses and strengths in those areas but combining the two on your RSS Feeds is what I have done and you get the best of both worlds. Another difference is that LifeSiteNews.com also reports on other issues like faith and family. You can also get on their email list. These two sites will keep you well aware of pro-life news around the globe and now more as you browse their sites.

LifeSiteNews.com is currently #26,761 in the US and #74,790 in the world according to Alexa.com.

LifeNews.com is currently #12,127 in the US and #58,590 in the world according to Alexa.com.

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Video: 2000+ aborted babies found in Buddhist temple



Here is another report on the findings of 17 aborted babies in a local dumpster in Michigan 11/20/2010 and a funeral held for each child.



Also check out true stories of two women who survived their abortions at label Melissa Ohden and label Gianna Jessen. And then see Testimony of the very Roe of Roe v Wade after finding forgiveness in Christ for her sins. Once abortion activist now trying to reverse Roe v Wade and Post Abortive Testimonies.

Update: Just found this story that I thought was applicable here at Newborn Saved from Dumpster by Man who Later Finds Out He’s the Father And check out this video from post titled Horror: Chinese Man Describes Wife’s Forced Abortion by Government Officials at LifeSiteNews.com.



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Video: Governor Bobby Jindal for president? Watch his recent interview on CBNNews.com.



I like Bobby Jindal the more I get to know of him (check him out in video above) but I also like Governor Perry of Texas (who says he will not run for President. Bummer.), Mike Pence and Mike Huckabee. So far those are my solid favorites.

My second favorites would be Sarah Palin (I have her in my second favorite only because of my concerns that she doesn't do well in the polls so is she electable?), I like Governor Christie from New Jersey but still need to know more about him and pretty much anybody Governor Perry will endorse unless that is Romney.

The one I hope doesn't run would be Palin because of above problems but also Mitt Romney. Not looking for any inside division over RomneyCare which would make him not as solid as a president as many would like. Also, on the pro-life issue Romney will divide up and lose some social conservatives. It could be that any opponent to Obama will win but we have to be careful of a third party or dividing up the passion of the grassroots that has given the GOP great success so far.

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House Republicans make prayer their first act in power. KKK lynchings included white Republicans. Why the rich should not be overtaxed?

Last Week In Review

Picture to the left is from post titled 10 week old embryo pictures outside of the womb taken by med student in India. Also check out Kelly Clinger: Fromer back up singer to Britney Spears tells of abortion and Jesus and Susan Boyle reveals that Dr's wanted her mom to abort her

Headlines


Republican's first act in power in the House

Mike Pence makes the Republicans' first acts in power in prayer and remembrance of 1774 when the first congress convened. and Video: We still Hold these Truths

The Rich

Why higher income earners should not be overtaxed? and I thought this video went well with this story at Video: 75% of French youth want to work for the French Government spelling future disaster which this one will go well with also at Video: Daniel Hannan european politician warns America and offers a new web site to check out for American Conservatives

KKK and white Republicans

Video: KKK not only killed blacks but opposed white Republicans and a fourth of lynchings included whites

Pro-Life

Stem Cells from an aborted baby injected into brain of an elderly patient.

Yet another study confirms link between abortion and breast cancer

Undercover investigator stops murder for hire of unborn child and ex girlfriend.

International

Obama adminsitrations teaches Peru that sex before marriage is ok with millions of condoms at American tax payer expense

Videos

Video: Tom Coburn answers criticisms of earmark bans

Video: Mitch McConnell's speech on the House floor announcing his support of earmark bans

Breaking: Mitch McConnell announces support for earmark ban!!!

Video: Michelle Bachmann and newly elected House Republicans at GOP rally on Capitol Hill from November 2010

Liberal State University Professor says we may get nuked if we ignore global warming

Watch UK Parliament debate the recent student fees in the UK which has caused an ugly protest in the UK.

Video: Virginia AG involved in the first lawsuit against ObamaCare is recently interviewed on this case to get us up to date

Taxes

College drop outs costing tax payers millions

New Mexico budget deficit grows from $80 million to $450 million in 4 months.

Miscellaneous

Gateway Pundit moves to RightNetwork.com

Image of letter from CSPAN to Republican leader Boehner for more cameras in the House

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Mike Pence makes the Republicans' first acts in power in prayer and remembrance of 1774 when the first congress convened.

Great news. As you read below of the Republicans' first organizations meeting of the 112th congress here is what Reagan said in 1981 as he quotes Lincoln from the past in our nation's crisis of the Civil War in the 1800's and during the current economic crisis that Reagan faced in the 80's: "Abraham Lincoln once said, "I would be the most foolish person on this footstool earth if I believed for one moment that I could perform the duties assigned to me without the help of one who is wiser than all." I know that in the days to come and the years ahead there are going to be many times when there will only be one set of footprints in my life. If I did not believe that, I could not face the days ahead."-1981 National Day of Prayer Breakfast. Reagan was referring to that infamous poem about the footprints in the sand. And 3 years later in 1984 remain firm in this conviction at a prayer breakfast in Dallas saying "America needs God more than God needs America, If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under."


Below article from Family Research Council....

House Leaders Decide to Pray It Safe

The new House majority needs plenty of guidance--and fortunately for our country, this team knows where get it. Yesterday, in the very first organizational meeting of the 112th Congress, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) made the Republicans' first acts in power seeking a higher power. Before they launched into the business at hand, Rep. Pence took the members back in time to 1774, when the first Congress of the United States convened. Knowing the rights and freedoms they sought were God-given, the Rev. Mr. Duche opened that September 7th session in prayer, establishing a precedent that continues to this day. It wasn't a perfunctory prayer, but one of profound humility that began with the 35th Psalm. Mike read that same Psalm yesterday, asking the Lord to come to their aid as they give Him "thanks in the great assembly." Two hundred thirty years earlier, John Adams said, "I never saw a greater effect upon an audience." May it have that same effect on these men and women as they fight for the virtues that our founding fathers gave their lives to advance. Join the 28,098 people across the country who have pledged with FRC to lift up our leaders in prayer. They need it. And more importantly, America needs it.

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Susan Boyle reveals that Dr's wanted her mom to abort her

LifeSiteNews.com reports that Susan Boyle reveals in her new book that Dr's wanted her mother to abort her.

Boyle soared to stardom in April 2009 after appearing on the UK television program, Britain’s Got Talent, when the plain-looking Scotswoman shocked audiences with a powerful rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical version of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables.

But the 49-year-old native of Blackburn, a village in West Lothian, Scotland would never have dreamed the dream of singing on the international stage, if her mother had agreed to abort her on the advice of doctors.

In her autobiography, The Woman I Was Born To Be, Boyle reveals that doctors recommended a “termination” to Bridget Boyle, who already was a mother of eight children, because they feared physical complications.

Boyle reveals that her mother rejected this advice as “unthinkable” since she was a “devout Catholic.”

When Boyle was born by emergency c-section, doctors did not tell her mother the usual “Congratulations, Mrs. Boyle! A beautiful baby girl.” Boyle wrote that doctors took a dismissive view of her life – especially when they suspected brain damage due to oxygen deprivation.

“‘It’s probably best to accept Susan will never be anything,” Boyle recounted the doctors telling her mother. “‘Susan will never come to anything so don’t expect too much of her.’”

Related: Andrea Bocelli tells of his mother choosing life for him in spite of Doctors advice to abort him because he will be disabled in some way as moms head to Congress to testify with Babies in hands

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Obama adminsitrations teaches Peru that sex before marriage is ok with millions of condoms at American tax payer expense

LifeSiteNews.com reports on how American tax dollars are paying for some 18,000,000 condoms for Peruvians which I am sure will just curb the sexual appetite into oblivion. Whatever.

In an article titled Obama administration flooding Peru with millions of condoms a Peruvian bishops pins the tail on the donkey.

"The Cardinal Archbishop of Peru, Juan Luis Cipriani, likewise blasted the new condom campaign in a recent sermon, in which he characterized the government's policy as: "I'm going to give out condoms, 18 million. I'm not going to educate young people, I'm not going to educate parents, I'm not going to educate public opinion, I'm going to give them out so that there will be more libertinism, more sexual abuse."

"This is the betrayal of which Jesus spoke," said the Cardinal.

Numerous studies have indicated that condom distribution promotes sexual promiscuity, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and out of wedlock births, while abstinence education tends to reduce them.

The USAID program says on its website that it has convinced the Peruvian government to classify contraceptives as "medicine" and openly declares its intention to lower the fertility rate of Peruvian women, claiming that it benefits them economically. It spends $11.2 million annually on providing "health" services to the country."

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Kelly Clinger was a former back up singer to Britney Spears and apparently left cause she was raped which she tells of in passing as she explains her struggles over the two abortions she had.

Kelly has a blog and I would suggest reviewing a recent post titled #ihadanabortion and i hate myself but she gets into a little more detail in a blog titled Goodness and Mercy: my truth about abortion from February.

LifeSiteNews.com just did this story on her where VVN found the image and the links above to.

I wanted to focus on a portion of her blog from February:

"So, I quieted the voice in my head that told me not to do it, and I had an abortion.  I paid extra so that they would put an IV in and I would be asleep during the procedure.  I honestly didn’t think much about it until a few months later when I got pregnant again.  It’s so hard for me to type this and not feel self-hatred arise.  I went back to the clinic, and this time they gave me a “discount” because I had been there before.  They put the IV in, but this time I could still hearThe sounds and the smells still haunt me to this day.  I cried a lot after that.

A few weeks later, I started having terrible cramping and bleeding out of nowhere.  I went to my doctor and after several tests and procedures they realized that the abortion did not get all of the baby.  What ensued after that was horrible…and the lies and deceit that accompanied it were just as disgusting.

A few months ago, 10 years after the abortions, I decided it was time to face the murderer in the mirror.  That might sound harsh, but in that 10 years I developed a relationship with Jesus, and in His mercy and kindness He began to show me things in my life that I hadn’t dealt with.  I would stumble upon scripture about how God made me and knew me before I was even IN the womb, so surely He knew the children in MY womb and had a purpose for them.  I joined a bible study called “Surrendering the Secret” and started on what would be the most difficult journey in my life so far.  I started out determined not to cry because of the walls I had built.  But slowly those walls came down and I walked through healing.  It was not easy but it was necessary."
She than goes on to encourage her readers that may be going through the same thing.

"This is not a Republican/Democrat or conservative/liberal issue.  This is an issue of life.  I am not here to convince anyone of my “views”.  I want you to know what happened to me because I know I’m not alone.  Abortion has hurt millions of women.  If 5 women read this blog, then statistics say that at least one of you has had an abortion.  The guilt and shame that accompanies it is overwhelming and haunting.  Healing would not have been mine without the love and forgiveness of my Father….and it’s there for you too.  It is my prayer that I can take the hands of millions of women and gently lead them to freedom.  Won’t you take my hand?" 

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Video: We still Hold these Truths



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Video: Daniel Hannan european politician warns America and offers a new web site to check out for American Conservatives



Daniel Hannan just recently posted this post on his site titled If you're American and conservative, read this… 

Also see an excellent piece of a warning from other Europeans in France at Video: 75% of French youth want to work for the French Government spelling future disaster

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