President Obama’s just-issued National Security Strategy has, like most heavily nuanced Obama documents, something for everyone.  What is given with one hand is seized by the other, in near-predictable cyclical fashion.

There are stout affirmations of America’s need for a strong defense extensively qualified by even more dogmatic commitments to a new “international order.”  According to the President, we must “(renew) American leadership so that we can more effectively advance our interests in the 21st century” while  “shaping an international order that can meet the challenges of our time.” 

So … is there ever a time when American leadership means standing alone?  Is that not, by definition, what leadership sometimes is?

Mr. Obama says, within two paragraphs, that “military force, at times may be necessary to defend our country” and that “the use of force is sometimes necessary” (emphasis mine).  Maybe, is, could be, sometimes – there might be a certain trumpet in there somewhere, but I have yet to find it.

Mr. Obama then lurches into Wilsonian utopianism: His new “strategy” “reaffirms America’s commitment to pursue our interests through an international system in which all nations have certain rights and responsibilities.”  This rings of Wilson’s infantile Fourteen Points, through which an arrogant American president tried to impose a new international order on a world that didn’t want one. 

Continue reading »

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Today, two FRC interns and I attended a legislative briefing on matters that should be of interest to home schools and private religious schools.  The event was hosted by the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), and the American Association of Christian Schools (AACS).  The background is the possible “reauthorization” of the major federal education statute, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

The three associations that held the briefing are concerned that the following sections in the ESEA remain in the reauthorized statute without modification:

• Section 9506 (20 U.S.C. § 7886) (protecting home schools and nonrecipient religious and private schools from any regulation by the federal government) (Will Estrada of HSLDA characterized this provision as the “heart” of the ESEA provisions that protect home schools and private schools);
• Section 9527 (20 U.S.C. § 7907) (prohibiting federal funds from being used to establish a national curriculum);
• Section 9529 (20 U.S.C. § 7909) (prohibiting federal funds from being used to establish nationalized testing);
• Section 9530 (20 U.S.C § 7910) (prohibiting federal funds from being used for any program of national teacher testing or national teacher certification);
• Section 9531 (20 U.S.C. § 7911) (protecting the privacy of student data by prohibiting federal funds from being used to create a national student database).

The Family Research Council takes the protection of homeschooling and private schooling seriously.  Along with HSLDA, ACSI, and AACS, FRC wishes to preserve the statutory language referenced above in order to: 1) preserve the primary role of the parents in educational decision-making; 2) maintain the autonomy of Christian educational institutions; and, 3) and safeguard the possibility that religious parents can educate their children in a manner consistent with their faith.

Emily Ahrens, of Cedarville University, and David Ferkaluk, of Cedarville University, assisted in the preparation of this report.

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In the latest Mapping America, the National Survey of Family Growth shows that women who did not grow up with their biological mother and father and who worship less than weekly are much more likely to engage in homosexual conduct as adults than are women who grew up in an intact family and who worship at least weekly.

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From the May 21, 2010 edition of Washington Watch Weekly:

TONY PERKINS: Since President Obama announced his plans to force open homosexuality in the military, liberal members in Congress have been chomping at the bit to force the change, even though the military is in the midst of a six month review of how to impellent this change without hurting military readiness, and which numerous studies have shown that it would. Well the study is to be presented to Congress the first of December, but a Michigan senator, Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, hopes to amend the Defense Authorization bill next week. Joining us from Capitol Hill is Senator John McCain who represents Arizona; he’s been representing Arizona since 1982. He’s a true American hero, having served twenty-two years as a naval aviator, a survivor of the North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp in Hanoi. I have to tell you his fighting spirit is well known and respected on Capitol Hill – Senator McCain, thanks for joining us on Washington Watch Radio.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: Thank you Tony, and again thanks for all you do for the men and women in the military, for our nation’s security and the values that we hold dear.

TONY PERKINS: Well thank you Senator and I didn’t mention that you’re also the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, so you’re right on the front lines of this fight over the military. Now we’re expecting Senator Levin the chairman to try and amend a military authorization bill which is a spending bill. This gives money to the military is that correct?

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: Yes, and it does authorize, it would be – if you thought it was appropriate – it would be a vehicle that would contain a policy change. But the fact is as you mention there is a study going on. The secretary of defense recently openly stated that they should allow the study to be completed before any congressional action should be taken. By the way I have a big problem with the study itself. The study should be on the impact on battle effectiveness on morale in the military if the policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – the law, not the policy – the law of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” were repealed. Instead Secretary Gates, to my great disappointment, is conducting a study as to how best to implement it – in other words it’s a fait accompli because of no other reason than President Obama’s campaign promise. The military is at its highest level of effectiveness, morale, equipment, training, professionalism, and why we would want to disrupt that when we’re in the middle of two wars is something that I find very, very wrong.

TONY PERKINS: Yeah, it’s a very important distinction to make and you have made that both in committee and in correspondence to the Secretary of Defense, and I think the public needs to be aware that the review that is taking place is how to implement this change, not if the change should be made. However, in the process, and I know this from some meetings over at the Pentagon with those that are doing this review, that they’re uncovering some problems that they did not anticipate. Can not Congress when they come back with this review in December then explore more deeply into these issues that have come up and come to its own conclusion that this is not the best approach for the military?

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: Well, obviously Congress plays a role, but I don’t think it should play a preemptive role. We should assess the impact of change in this law on battle effectiveness – we have a military for only one reason, and people join the military for only one reason and that is to fight. And it’s our obligation – and defend our nation’s security – and we have an obligation it seems to me to make sure that we don’t do anything that would disrupt or diminish that capability, especially when we are in two wars, in order to carry out a campaign promise of the President of the United States, not because there is any movement, any outcry, any request for the change to be made. The Commandant of the Marine Corps has come out flat out saying he opposes repeal – in fact the Commandant of the Marine Corps said that they would have to look at living arrangements that the Marine Corps has, so the implications of this change in law has to be assessed carefully. Instead apparently the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi who said today, it’s carried in the news today, that “‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy will be nothing but a memory by year’s end, Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared Wednesday.” So I think it’s good that we review every policy no matter what it is from time to time and review of the policy is something that I know, Tony, you and I would agree on, but a preemptive repeal without any study, without any assessment on the impact of battle effectiveness is in my view putting our social agenda, or the liberal social agenda, ahead of national security.

TONY PERKINS: Well Senator McCain that brings up a question, or an observation: those that are really pushing this agenda to essentially use the military to advance their social agenda-

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: That’s it-

TONY PERKINS: How many of them have actually served in the military?

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: (laughter) I don’t know of any. There may be a few – Congressman Sestak has, I don’t know his position on the issue, I haven’t heard it yet – but the point is that the people that I talk to and know, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, have both come out strongly against the repeal, and certainly even more strongly against a process that would preemptively address an issue which, could, could, I emphasize could – we haven’t done the study – could adversely affect the morale and battle effectiveness of the United States military, the by far and head and shoulders above and better than any other in the world today.

TONY PERKINS: Absolutely, without question – I know a lot of people point to militaries that have allowed homosexuality within the ranks – there’s twenty-five of almost two hundred nations but the top militaries in the world do not allow homosexuality to be openly engaged in, in the military – I mean, if you want a military that just does parades and stuff like that then I guess that’s okay.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: Could we also emphasize a point that’s lost in this debate sometime, particularly by the liberal media – we don’t, we do not tell someone who is homosexual that they can’t join the military – we don’t tell them that-

TONY PERKINS: Right.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: We, in fact, we appreciate the fact that all Americans would want to join the military. What we are saying is that that sexual orientation they’re kept quiet about, and they can have the whatever orientation they choose; because in 1993 we passed the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy because we thought that was the best way to maintain morale and battle effectiveness in the United States military.

TONY PERKINS: The focus-

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: So it’s not discriminatory and no one forces anyone to join the military and if they wanna have a sexual orientation we don’t keep them from having that orientation.

TONY PERKINS: Well it’s all focused on behavior and the same standards apply to heterosexuals who are-

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: Right.

TONY PERKINS: Cannot engage in adultery – that’s a crime in the military – and people don’t realize that, that there is a higher standard for the military for the very purposes that you outlined, Senator.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: Well I hope our listeners will take an interest in this issue. And I know that there’s a whole lot of other issues out there, the economy, joblessness, Iranian nuclear buildup, immigration, there’s a whole lot of other issues, but this issue has significant long-term implication for our ability to defend this nation. So I hope listeners of this show, Tony, will take an interest. Contact Family Research Council for more information, contact our office and weigh in on this issue because it really does have significant long-term implications.

TONY PERKINS: Senator I couldn’t, I could not agree with you more. Senator John McCain, thanks for joining us.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: Thank you, Tony.

Listen to the audio:

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So it comes to this: A man whose life has been defined by politics, whose whole identity has been subsumed under the title “Senator,” has been decisively rejected by the voters of his state.

Arlen Specter is 80 years old, a two-time survivor of virulent cancer and a Democrat-turned Republican-turned Democrat. His partisan allegiance was, apparently, animated only by opportunism, and this proved his rightful undoing.

The dubious British politician Stanley Baldwin reportedly once said, “I would rather be an opportunist and float than go to the bottom with my principles around my neck.” Sadly, Sen. Specter is going to the political bottom not with his principles but because of their absence.

It is always easy to kick a dead lion and then roar about one’s bravery. I wish neither to kick nor gloat. Rather, we now all bear witness as Sen. Specter trails away with growing quiet due to his legacy of ideological betrayal and broken loyalty. Believing, evidently, in nothing more deeply than his own wisdom and importance to the Republic, he has proven how empty such hubristic convictions are.

To his credit, there has never been a whiff of moral scandal around Sen. Specter. It is my hope that God will grace Sen. and Mrs. Specter with many years of happy retirement.

But the legacy he leaves will be the memory of his facile commitment to anything other than himself. May it be a warning to all who would, intentionally or otherwise, follow in his stead.

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In Jan Moir’s op-ed “I believe in the right to choose, but TV adverts for abortion are simply wrong,” she points out her pro-choice but attacks a new television ad campaign by Marie Stopes International, one of the Britain’s largest abortion providers (and a major proponent of and performer of elective abortion in third world countries). Jan states: “Whatever side of the divide you might be on, the idea of abortion and abortion services – whatever they might be – being advertised on television is a distasteful one.” Why? She explains: “It is the throwaway nonchalance that so offends; as if an abortion was just another lifestyle choice to be pondered over in the commercial breaks..”

I’m not sure if the Marie Stopes ad should be allowed to air, as it might lead to more abortions. In that case, it makes sense for pro-lifers to fight its airing. On the other hand, maybe such an ad might have the benefit of stirring more public debate in a country that is so pro-abortion.

But what struck me most about Jan’s oped is how purely muddled her thinking is. Forget her snide attack’s on pro-lifers and her general support for the great work of Marie Stopes International. Jan simply thinks that killing a human fetus is morally permissible. Moreover, she thinks it’s a woman’s choice and that there is nothing immoral about doing so. But then why is not OK air an ad on the matter? How is “distasteful” or trite? Jan sees more of a moral problem with airing an advertisement on something she thinks is moral. And she thinks the only moral concern here is the issue of taste. How charming.

Jan thinks the moral issue of triteness gets at the fact that the advertisement belittles the seriousness of the choice a woman must make. Maybe it’s like belittling the seriousness of a choice to have sex. Culture may push for sex to be viewed as a lighthearted decision. Jan presumably would also think belittling the seriousness of the decision to have sex is also distasteful.

So what? Of course an abortion is a difficult choice for a woman (or most). But why should belittling this choice be immoral, or why if the advertisement causes young women to be more “trite” about having an abortion, as Jan claims, is that wrong? The question is why? I suppose one could say that putting your pet to sleep is a difficult choice that is not inherently immoral nor as easy as emptying your garbage. It can, and maybe should, be a difficult decision. But the extent to the difficulty in putting your pet to sleep stems from the emotional impact, the difficulty of the choice, for the person making it. It says nothing about the pet, its rights, dignity, worth, etc. This is the problem with her argument about abortion. A person has a difficult choice, and she says it should be difficult. But again why? Jan’s concerns are like the pet example, it’s OK to kill the fetus, just so the person is taking it seriously when making the choice. Obviously, we may find it distasteful for someone to enjoy killing their pets. Tisk tisk. But for most people, the seriousness of this decision stems from a relationship with their pet, and frankly, some idea of worth of their pet. I’m not proposing that animals have the same rights as human (sorry to those who think otherwise). Yet, the point is that if it’s OK to kill your pet, even that this would be considered “humane” in some cases, then the weight of the decision has less to do with the morality of the act and more to do with the emotional struggle with the act. So, killing your fetus is perfectly fine, just make sure you don’t make the decision lightly.

What Jan ignores in her op-ed, and even dismisses, is the fundamental moral question about the nature of the fetus, not just the woman making the choice. It’s not so much that she disagrees with pro-lifers on that question, as much as she despises them for even raising it. Now who is being trite?

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A few months ago, I blogged about a Planned Parenthood affiliate in Iowa administering the dangerous RU-486 abortifacient regime via skype. A local news station in Iowa is now providing more information about this story:

The new telemedicine technique allows a doctor to talk to and dispense the pills to a patient in a remote office location using a camera and microphone connected to the Internet, which allows for two-way communication. Officials said the patient is counseled by on-site staff before connecting to talk to the doctor who is at a different location. After talking to the patient, the doctor can then tap a button on the computer to activate a special drawer at the patient’s location that will open and allow the patient to receive the pills. The patient then takes the first pills while the doctor watches.

To be clear, RU-486 isn’t considered the safest of drugs.

Due to potential adverse reactions (in particular, excessive bleeding to the extent of needing a blood transfusion or incomplete abortions requiring further surgery), RU-486 can only be administered by a physician who can do blood transfusions or surgical abortions should they be required.

By the spring of 2006 six years after RU-486 was made available in the United States, the FDA acknowledged six deaths, nine life-threatening incidents, 232 hospitalizations, 116 blood transfusions, and 88 cases of infections, with a total of 1070 adverse events reports.*

Once again I wonder how Planned Parenthood, an organization that advocates for women’s health, could possibly advocate administering this drug regime with less medical attention and supervision.

*Letter from David W. Boyer, Assistant Commissioner for Legislation, Food and Drug Administration, to the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources (May 2, 2006) (on file with Subcommittee).

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Television anchor Dan Rather had an interesting piece in the Huffington Post yesterday drawing much needed attention to the growing problem of child trafficking and prostitution in the United States. He writes that throughout his 60 years of reporting, few stories have been more shocking:

How many children are being peddled on the streets of Portland and in other cities and towns, to say nothing of the Internet?…The most conservative estimates are that at least 10,000 American children are being victimized. Many experts say they believe it’s closer to 30,000 or more.

Rather talks with law enforcement to learn how it could be possible that so many young people are exploited in such an atrocious way.

… many of the children caught up in this are middle class kids from the area…The girls, sometimes as young as 12, often 13-16, are lured by a “front man” in his mid-to-late teens. He becomes her “boyfriend,” taking her to dinner, buying her nice things, sometimes meeting her parents. The girl eventually moves in with him. Then he says they need money to continue being together. First, she’s enticed to sleep with his friends to pay the rent. Soon she’s turning tricks for what police say is an endless supply of older men willing to pay top money for sex with very young girls. Other times convincing the young adolescent girls to sell themselves happens very quickly.

The Anti-Trafficking of Human Persons division at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services describe the various ways that children in the U.S. are exploited:

In the United States, children are subjected to human trafficking in many different sectors. Examples include prostitution on the streets or in a private residence, club, hotel, spa, or massage parlor; online commercial sexual exploitation; exotic dancing/stripping; agricultural, factory, or meatpacking work; construction; domestic labor in a home; restaurant/bar work; illegal drug trade; door-to-door sales, street peddling, or begging; or hair, nail, and beauty salons. Family members, acquaintances, pimps, employers, smugglers, and strangers traffic children. They often prey upon the children’s vulnerabilities – their hopes for an education, a job, or a better life in another country – and may use psychological intimidation or violence to control the children and gain financial benefits from their exploitation. Trafficked children may show signs of shame or disorientation; be hungry and malnourished; experience traumatic bonding (Stockholm syndrome) and fear government officials, such as police and immigration officers.

This same US government division provides numerous resources for people who might be victim to these crimes. One such resource is a 24-hour hotline that helps victims of trafficking by connecting them with local organizations that can provide help. The number is 1.888.3737.888. See the HHS website for more information on how to assist someone who could be a victim of trafficking or to learn more about this problem.

I am grateful to Dan Rather bringing this dark issue into the media light. Unfortunately, as pointed out by one commenter, the ad for Rather’s story on the network’s website was ironically placed below another ad – one with young girls in bikinis — for “Girls Gone Wild.” If nothing else, we can all agree that there is a deep need to continue to fight against the oversexualization of young girls and the many atrocious crimes that can accompany such objectification.

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Incoming freshmen at UC-Berkeley will be asked to provide more than SAT scores and transcripts with their applications. The welcome package will also have a cotton swab and 2 bar code stickers, and students will be asked to voluntarily submit a DNA sample. Supposedly the DNA will be tested for three genes, showing the student’s ability to tolerate alcohol and metabolize folic acid and lactose. Results will be placed in a confidential database and used to help students make decisions about their diet and lifestyle. Previously students had been asked to read a couple books related to behavior and lifestyle.

According to Mark Schlissel, Dean of the Division of Biological Sciences:

“This type of experience is one of the true, unique values of a Berkeley education. We don’t just give you books to read. We involve you in cutting edge issues in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. You won’t see this anywhere else in higher education.”

Not everyone is pleased about having the DNA test, nor about having their DNA information placed in a database. Questions certainly arise about confidentiality, as well as what other information may be gleaned or whether any DNA is stored for future testing.

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The phone rang insistently just after 8:32 that quiet Sunday morning in Silverdale, Washington. My wife and I were getting up, planning on going to church in our quiet community. My mother was on the line, calling from Roanoke, Virginia, and quite agitated: “Are you alright? Did the blast harm your home? Will you be covered by lava, by ash?”

I didn’t know what she was talking about. “Oh, the mountain has been rumbling for weeks,” I told her, trying to assuage her concerns. “NO! It’s erupted. Mount Saint Helens is all over the news.”

I ran to the window, straining to see any evidence of the volcano’s dense cloud of ash. I saw nothing. We were about 100 miles north of the mountain.

Turning on the television, we learned that the volcano had indeed erupted, with the force a nuclear bomb, and with devastating results. The top of the mountain was blown away. Volcanic ash rose violently and menacingly sixteen miles into the air. Spirit Lake was destroyed.

Washington State’s rich agricultural regions—Eastern Washington—were all in the path of the ash cloud. Soon, pictures on television showed towns and villages blanketed with ash, like some weird blizzard in May. And the TV stations provided maps of the expected path of the ash cloud.

Continue reading »

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Australian doctors have diagnosed a newly-described disease in a young woman, and have successfully treated her disease with adult stem cells. Katie Pulling had been in and out of the hospital for years, since she was eleven years old. Her symptoms baffled physicians. Doctors at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital finally were able to determine that the condition was due to a problem in her immune system. And the solution was to replace and reboot her immune system using donated adult stem cells. According to Dr. Maher Gandhi:

“The signals in Katie’s immune system were not functioning normally. This meant her immune cells could not communicate with each other properly.
“We contacted Dr Glen Kennedy, an expert in bone marrow stem cell transplantation at the Royal Brisbane Hospital, to see if this might offer a cure.
“The transplant was dangerous, but the results were amazing. The defect in Katie’s immune cells has been fixed. To our knowledge this is the first time this disorder has been reported.”

Katie said:

“Now I don’t get sick. I am really not used to it and keep waiting to get sick. I am now back to full time study and loving it.”

Katie, now 23, is completing her studies for a Bachelor of Business degree.

The results are published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

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Mary Eberstadt’s must-read essay in this month’s First Things, “The Weight of Smut,” covers the far-reaching effects that pornography has on American life:

The notion for starters that those in the “industry” itself are not being harmed by what they do cannot survive even the briefest reading of testimonials to the contrary by those who have turned their backs on it, among them Playboy bunnies (including Izabella St. James, author of Bunny Tales). It is a world rife with everything one would want any genuinely loved one to avoid like the plague: drugs, exploitation, physical harm, AIDS.

Nor can that defense survive the extremely troubling—or what ought to be extremely troubling—connections between pornography and prostitution. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has notably taken the lead in investigating and throwing light on the sordid phenomenon of “sex trafficking,” both here and abroad. Yet trafficking, as the Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have both noted, is often associated with pornography—for example, via cameras and film equipment found when trafficking circles are broken up. Plainly, the reality of the human beings behind many of those images on the Internet is poorer, dirtier, druggier—and younger—than pious appeals to “consenting adults” can withstand. Is this world really what the libertarian defenders of pornography want to subsidize?

Once again, who even needs all that social science? Perhaps the most telling response to the “pictures” defense is rhetorical. Ask even the most committed user whether he wants his own daughter or son in that line of work—and then ask why it’s all right to have other people’s daughters and sons making it instead.

Read the whole thing for a good perspective on just how burdensome the porn epidemic has become. Eberstadt quotes my colleague Cathy Ruse on the vitriol that defenders of pornography have against its critics.

For more, read the report of another colleague, Patrick Fagan, who has studied in-depth the effects of pornography on individuals, marriage, family, community.

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A study by scientists in Finland suggests ingestion of cheese can help preserve and enhance the immune system of the elderly. As we age, the immune system can deteriorate, a process known as immunosenescence. The deterioration of immunity can result in the inability to kill tumor cells, reduced immune response to vaccinations, and infections. Previous studies had shown that consumption of probiotic bacteria such as Lactobacillus species can counter the loss of helpful intestinal bacteria that stimulate immunity. The scientists asked 31 elderly volunteers aged from 72 to 103 to eat a slice of probiotic Gouda cheese with their breakfast for four weeks. The published results showed a clear enhancement of natural and acquired immunity for the cheese eaters.

No word on whether the elderly do better with aged cheese…

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A ten-year-old boy is now breathing easy, thanks to a world first transplant using a new windpipe grown using his adult stem cells. The young boy was born with a rare condition called Long Segment Tracheal Stenosis, with a narrow windpipe that does not grow and restricts breathing. He had undergone previous surgeries to widen his windpipe but the condition had become life threatening. A team of British and Italian doctors developed a new technique to treat the young boy’s life-threatening condition. They took a donor trachea, stripped it down to the cartilage scaffolding, and then injected adult stem cells from the boy’s bone marrow. The stem cell-coated organ was then implanted in the boy. Over time the adult stem cells will cover the windpipe; using his own stem cells means there is no transplant rejection problem.

The major step forward in this case, is that instead of re-growing the organ with adult stem cells in the laboratory for months until it is fully formed, the cells were put into the trachea just before implanting it. The team of British and Italian scientists described the procedure as a breakthrough for its simplicity in using the “ideal laboratory” of the human body to rebuild the organ.

Back in 2008, the group performed their first such transplant into a young Colombian woman who faced loss of a lung due to a damaged trachea. The cells were removed from a cadaveric trachea and then the cartilage structure was bathed in the woman’s bone marrow adult stem cells in the laboratory. The re-grown trachea was then transplanted into the woman, restoring her airway. The results were published in The Lancet.

In an editorial that the original team published in the journal Regenerative Medicine regarding the first transplant, they make the point:

“The positive publicity that surrounded this experience permitted the difference between adult and embryonic stem cells to be understood by a wide audience, whilst the debate in internet chat rooms between those for and against embryonic stem cell applications became slightly less based on fear and preconception and slightly more on the evidential base.
“Meanwhile, for one young woman from Colombia and her children, the implications of the first stem cell-based organ transplant are quite clear.”

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It’s been known for some time that new neurons are produced throughout life, and that exercise can stimulate production of new neurons. Newly-formed cells integrate into existing networks and play an important role in learning and memory. But there is also an age-related decline in formation of new cells. Now scientists at the Max Planck Institute have determined why that may be, at least in mice. They found that within sites in the brain where new neurons are formed, there are two populations of neural stem cells, termed “radial” and “horizontal”. The stem cells can either be actively dividing or quiescent (dormant, not growing but in reserve.) In aged mice, there was no decline in the actual numbers of neural stem cells, but there was a shift from active to quiescent. The scientists found more newly-formed neurons in physically active mice than inactive mice. Exercise seemed specifically to activate the dormant radial neural stem cells. Interestingly, other stimuli such as epileptic activity activated the horizontal neural stem cells.

According to one of the authors, Prof. Verdon Taylor:

“Consequently, running promotes the formation of new neurons.”

The results are published in the journal Cell Stem Cell

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A new study by Canadian researchers published online in Nature Neuroscience shows that, at least in mice, fathers who bond with their offspring develop new neurons in the brain. For the mouse fathers, it seems to be odor and nuzzling that stimulates the bonding and nerve growth, and allows them to recognize their offspring even when the young have become adults, protecting them rather than fighting with them. The results show that bonding and recognition is associated with growing new brain neurons. The researchers had previously shown that female mice grew new neurons during bonding with males.

In a separate study, scientists showed that a mother’s touch can do much more than comfort a baby. Dr. Tallie Baram has shown that touching and caressing trigger changes in a baby’s brain that improve cognitive function and build resilience to stress later in life. The study is published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Early parental involvement and caring apparently has longer-lasting effects than we knew previously. And for fathers, it might help make them a bit smarter, too.

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Those of us at the Family Research Council and a number of guests were greatly enriched by a lecture given today by Professor Daniel Dreisbach, the distinguished, American University historian.  Professor Dreisbach specializes in studying the relationship of religion and politics in the era of the American Revolution and the 30-40 years that followed.  He is also an attorney, so his work incorporates issues related to constitutional law – and, more specifically, First Amendment law.  His Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State (2002) provided a groundbreaking book-length examination of Jefferson’s “wall” cited in the Everson case over fifty years ago.  (Here is a lecture-length treatment of the same topic by Dreisbach.)

The professor’s lecture today (“The Bible and the Founding Fathers”) focused not on Jefferson and walls, but on late 18^th Century political texts and the Bible.  FRC will be making the lecture available on the website shortly, and I urge anyone interested in American history to watch it.

The bottom line is that political discourse in the Founding Era was replete with Biblical references.  Interestingly, the most commonly referenced book of the Bible was Deuteronomy – a book that summarizes many of the principles and history found in the other books in the Torah.  (Deuteronomy is also the most quoted book in the New Testament.)  Deuteronomy is a book concerned with the establishment of a just and godly society, so it is fitting that it was used often when our new government was being created.

Additionally, Driesbach demonstrated that the subtlety with which the Bible is referenced indicated a very high level of Biblical literacy in the populace, so much so, that allusions without citation were expected to be understood.  Analysis of texts by Washington and Patrick Henry were particularly illuminating in this regard.

One more point: after the lecture, Professor Dreisbach informed me that, in August 2009, he published a collection of primary source materials on religious liberty and church-state relations in the Founding Era.  The book is The Sacred Rights of Conscience (Liberty Fund Books, 2009).  Here is some information from the publisher’s webpage:

The Sacred Rights of Conscience provides students and scholars a rich collection of primary sources that illuminate the discussions and debates about religious liberty in the American founding era. This compilation of primary documents provides a thorough and balanced examination of the evolving relationship between public religion and American culture, from pre-colonial biblical and European sources to the early nineteenth century, to allow the reader to explore the social and political forces that defined the concept of religious liberty and shaped American church-state relations.

Including material that has been previously unavailable or hard to find, The Sacred Rights of Conscience contains original documents from both public and private papers, such as constitutions, statutes, legislative resolutions, speeches, sermons, newspapers, letters, and diary entries. These documents provide a vivid reminder that religion was a dynamic factor in shaping American social, legal, and political culture and that there has been a struggle since the inception of the Republic to define the prudential and constitutional role of religion in public culture.

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Family Research Council and FRCAction have gotten a lot of experience recently in doing online and radio ads. FRCAction’s powerful radio spot may have helped to drive Rep. Bart Stupak from the 2010 congressional races. Other groups doubtless will claim that credit, too, but it was FRCAction’s hard-hitting ad that really showed how Stupak’s vote for ObamaCare opens the door to federal funding of abortion-on-demand for the first time since the passage of the Hyde Amendment more than thirty years ago. That ad, because it spoke so strongly to the deeply-held pro-life convictions of the good folks in Stupak’s congressional district—Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—was probably the thing that changed the political picture.

We’re now seeing a lot more ads online. It’s a wonderful new technology and it can really revolutionize political advertising. Gary Bauer, my former boss and my friend, has put a new ad online that is drawing lots of attention: Keep Israel Safe. The ad shows how dangerous Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is and why he cannot be allowed to complete Iran’s drive for a nuclear weapon. Gary argues in this ad that keeping Israel safe is the best way to keep America safe. By implication, Gary is saying that President Obama is endangering both the U.S. and Israel. I agree strongly.

This brings up the whole topic of political ads. They can be powerful and they can be misused. The worst ad in history, I believe, was the 1964 ad screened by the Lyndon B. Johnson campaign. They were determined to make Americans believe that Sen. Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee for President, would get us into a nuclear war with the Soviets. So the LBJ campaign screened an ad called “The Daisy.” The ad featured a little girl pulling petals off a daisy and counting to ten. Then, an announcer’s voice does the 10…9…8…7… countdown for the launch of a nuclear missile. After you see the nuclear explosion, President Johnson’s voice is heard saying “These are the stakes…We must either love each other, or we must die.” In other words, if you vote for Barry Goldwater, you and your lovely little girl will die in a nuclear holocaust. This is a classic TV ad because it so bad, so dishonest, so utterly devoid of truth. Bill Moyers—who jumped to PBS shortly after okaying this obscenity—is forever lecturing us on morality in politics. That’s like a notorious knee groiner preaching about fair play in wrestling.

The Johnson people, perhaps recognizing that it was a below-the-belt hit, defensively say that the ad was only run once. Right. That’s all they had to run it. It was immediately picked up and run again and again and again by the liberal media who kept showing it on news programs as they asked “is this a fair criticism of the Goldwater campaign?” Their conclusion, was that it might be a bit rough, but the stakes are high and, hey, Harry Truman said it best: If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. So the Johnson campaign had to endure some mild tsk-tsking but they got their message out there—played hundreds of times and for free.

My candidate for the best political ad in history is “The Bear,” from the 1984 campaign.

Ronald Reagan was famous for his get-tough attitude toward the Soviet Union. Part of the genius of this ad is that it never mentions war, or nukes, or enemies. But everyone in those years knew who the bear was—that was the symbol of Russia. The ad never mentions former Vice President Mondale. It doesn’t insult the voters’ intelligence.

It helped because Fritz Mondale was even then campaigning for a Nuclear Freeze. This was the idea that the United States should respond to the Soviets’ moving hundreds of SS-19 and SS-20 nuclear missiles into Eastern Europe by “freezing” our promised matching of this move. We had promised NATO countries that we would give them U.S. Pershing and Cruise missiles to balance the Soviets’ missiles. But when the time came to keep that promise, Mondale and the rest of the liberal dovecote froze in terror. They feared that if the West showed steely resolve to match the Soviets’ aggression, we would start a nuclear war.

Well, there was a bear in those woods. And Ronald Reagan’s campaign slogan of “Prepared for Peace” struck a responsive chord with voters that year. LBJ won 44 states in his re-election bid in 1964. Reagan won 49 states in his 1984 contest.

Four years after his smashing victory, President Johnson was driven from office by his own party. He could not even attend his party’s 1968 nominating convention, he was so despised. Four years after his landslide re-election bid, Ronald Reagan retired, honored and loved by millions of Americans in both political parties.

So, as we head into the political season, it might be well to remember the best and worst political ads. The best messages are those that are true, strong, and speak to the hearts of the American people. And, yes, it does matter how you play the game.

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Scientists have shown that human adult stem cells can promote kidney repair. There are currently no therapies to repair kidney damage. Patients with severe kidney damage go on dialysis while waiting for an organ transplant. The results of this recent study showed that human adult bone marrow stem cells, injected into mice with induced kidney damage, could promote kidney repair and regeneration.

A published study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrologyalso indicated that adult stem cells could promote kidney repair in a model of Alport syndrome. Alport syndrome causes progressive kidney disease leading to kidney failure at a young age. Researchers injected bone marrow adult stem cells into mice with Alport syndrome and found that the cell injection significantly improved kidney function, as well as survival.

In a start to putting the knowledge about adult stem cells to use in the clinic, a Phase I clinical trial is under way using adult stem cells to treat kidney damage that is sometimes seen following extensive open-heart surgery.

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Adult stem cells have shown the ability to stimulate healing of bone. Now Stanford scientists have used a protein that activates adult stem cells and progenitor cells to speed up the process of bone healing. A family of proteins called Wnt proteins are known to stimulate bone formation and tissue regeneration. Wnt proteins are difficult to isolate and hard to dissolve, so the scientists packaged the protein in liposomes, small lipid droplets similar to the membrane around cells. The Wnt proteins were planted like small flags in the outer surface of the liposome, so that when they contacted a cell they delivered their signal. The liposome technique allowed concentrated packaging of the proteins and easy delivery to target tissue. The Wnt-tagged liposomes were given to mice with damaged leg bones. Within three days, the treated mice showed 3 1/2-times more new bone growth than untreated animals, and had completely healed in four weeks, while untreated animals were still trying to heal. The Wnt protein appears to work by stimulating adult stem cells to become new bone. Because Wnt proteins can stimulate repair of a wide range of tissues, the technique might be useful not only in treatment of bone problems but also to stimulate repair of skin, heart and brain.

The study was published in Science Translational Medicine.

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