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Terrorism works because some politicians will eventually accommodate terrorist behavior in the hopes that in so doing a “greater good” will emerge from their moral compromise. Police Officer Lance Eldridge

Compromise is a loaded term. Often, it connotes sleaziness, payoffs, moral cowardice, the breeding ground of cynicism and political corruption. Compromise with terrorists, for example, will lead only to greater acts of terrorism, as Officer Eldridge and many others have noted.

However, appropriate compromise is part of all facets of life. For vacation, you want to go to Civil War battle sites, your wife wants to go to Hawaii . You end up in Orlando . Without such compromise, marriages would fail even more than they already do.

In politics, wedding allegiance to principle with prudent good judgment is a daily struggle. Critical legislation is seldom drafted to anyone’s full satisfaction. That is why principled compromise is so important.

Wisdom, prudence and good judgment, combined with accurate information and a willingness to decide, are all necessary for the making of sound decisions. Political philosopher Bruce Frohnen observes, “Prudence is the necessary tool for the attainment of virtue … (it) is the practical wisdom necessary if one is to judge rightly how to respond to particular circumstances.”

Such principled compromise is a matter of both honor and judgment – of the wisdom and prudence articulated in Scripture, affirmed in the conscience, and demonstrated in daily life. As Jesus said, “Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds” (Matthew 11:19).

Genuine wisdom is grounded in truth – truth that teaches the sanctity of life, the dignity of marriage, the importance of religious liberty. Thanks for standing with Family Research Council as we apply that truth, with wisdom, in the public square.

Sincerely,

Rob Schwarzwalder
Senior Vice President
Family Research Council

P.S. FRC’s Values Voter Summit is coming up soon — it’s a “don’t want to miss” forum of presidential candidates and conservative leaders from across the country. Click here to register.

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Educational Freedom and Reform
Homeschooling

• “Educational pioneers,” Tiffany Owens, WORLD Magazine
• “Homeschool Gets Better Report Card Than Public Schools,” R. Leigh Coleman, The Christian Post
• “Homeschooling Magnifies Family Problems (and That’s a Good Thing),” Jennifer Fulwiler, National Catholic Register
• “Homeschool Co-ops Tap Pooled Resources,” Jim Carlton, The Wall Street Journal
• “Entrepreneurial homeschooling co-ops,” Rod Dreher, The American Conservative

Legislation and Policy Proposals

• “Education, Mis-education, and the Mountains as Professors,” Jana Novak, First Things
• “SAT Scores Fall as Most Test Takers Miss College Benchmark,” Jason Koebler, U.S. News & World Report
• ““Banned Books” or Exaggerated Hype?,” Jordan Lorence, Alliance Defense Fund
• “Get Smart About College,” Sandy Baum and Michael McPherson, The Wall Street Journal
• “The Education Our Economy Needs,” Norm Augustine, The Wall Street Journal
• “Pupils Delighted,” Anthony Esolen, Touchstone Magazine

Government Reform
Regulation

• “Social Security and the Ponzi Scheme,” Rob Schwarzwalder, The Cloakroom
• “What If America Did Become a Theocracy?,” Joe Carter, First Things
• “Truth Deficit,” Charles Michael Andres Clark, Commonweal Magazine

Waste/Fraud/Abuse

• “Dreary jobs speech won’t go down in history,” Robert Morrison, The Washington Times
• “On the Deficit, the Rich, and the Tea Party,” Paul G. Kengor, The Center for Vision and Values
• “Waiting for Jobs,” Lawrence Mead, The American
• “Taxing Virtue,” Leslie Carbone, Breakpoint
• “Voters Want State Government Reform,” Douglas E. Schoen, The Wall Street Journal

Health Care
Abstinence

• “Sex Sells, Abstinence Saves: The Friday Five with Scott Phelps,” Daniel Darling, Patheos
• “Saved Sex: Loving Our Young People Enough to Tell Them the Truth,” Terell Clemmons, Salvo
• “Polluting the Waters,” Anthony Esolen, The Catholic Thing
• “Abstinence is Not Rocket Science,” Gina Dalfonzo, Christianity Today

Conscience Protection

• ““Conscience” in a Culture without Truths?,” Hadley Arkes, The Catholic Thing
• “Catholic Bishops Back Bill to Fix Conscience Gaps in Obamacare,” Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com
• “Stop Obama’s Recent Attack on Pro-Life Conscience Rights,” Rich Doerflinger, LifeNews.com

Health care reform: Political and Legislative efforts

• “How Private Health Insurance Slashed the Uninsured Rate for Americans: Health Fact of the Week,” Christopher J. Conover, The Enterprise Blog
• “A Rough Week for ObamaCare,” Grace-Marie Turner, The Galen Institute
• “Washington Is Tightening Its Grip On Medical Decision-making,” Grace-Marie Turner, Forbes
• “Catholics asked to fight birth control insurance rule,” Bruce Nolan, New Orleans Times-Picayune

Homosexuality

• “Pro-’gay’ groups take ‘pressure tactics’ to PayPal,” Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow
• “‘Anti-bullying’ as a pro-gay wedge,” Rod Dreher, The American Conservative
• “‘Don’t Ask’ Policy Draws to a Close,” Julian E. Barnes, The Wall Street Journal
• “Third sex becomes official: Australian passports now have three gender options – male, female and x,” Daily Mail
• “Military warned not to harass openly homosexual troops,” Rowan Scarborough, The Washington Times

Human Life and Bioethics
Abortion

• “Obama & HHS Give New Hampshire Planned Parenthood $1 Million After State Revoked Their Funding,” Thomas Peters, CatholicVote.org
• “Senate D.C. spending bill does not include abortion ban,” Ben Pershing, The Washington Post
• “France: Law allowing nurses and midwives to practise abortion declared unconstitutional,” J.C. von Krempach, J.D., Turtle Bay and Beyond
• “Tighter Rules Approved for VA Abortion Clinics,” Bethany Hernandez, Christian Law Journal
• “Florida Couple Receive $4.5M for Missed Chance to Abort,” Bethany Hernandez, Christian Law Journal
• “Ohio’s Heartbeat Bill Causes Controversy,” Michael J. New, National Review Online
• “The Case Against Pro-Life Physicians,” Daniel Kuebler, National Catholic Register
• “Planned Parenthood Stimulus Failure: Abortions Don’t Drop,” Brad Mattes, LifeNews.com
• “Congressional Hearing Marks 35 Years of China’s One-Child Policy,” Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com
• “Can We Talk about Abortion?,” Dennis O’Brien, Commonweal Magazine
• “Let’s Talk about Abortion: A Response to Dennis O’Brien,” Christopher Kaczor, The Public Discourse
• “Children Are a Blessing from God – All Children,” John Knight, Desiring God

Bioethics and Biotechnology

• “Surgical Robot Makes Paper Airplanes in its Spare Time,” Dr. David Prentice, Family Research Council
• “Changes in controversial organ donation method stir fears,” Rob Stein, The Washington Post

Euthanasia and End of Life Issues

• “Assisted Suicide: The Forgotten Front in the Fight for Life,” Adam J. MacLeod, The Public Discourse
• “Global Aging and Mass Murder in Norway,” Susan Yoshihara, Turtle Bay and Beyond
• “Capital Punishment, Sanctity of Life, and Human Dignity,” Christopher O. Tollefsen, The Public Discourse
• “A Disabled Man’s Fear of Doctor-Prescribed Death,” Wesley J. Smith, Secondhand Smoke

Stem Cell Research

To read about the latest advances in ethical adult stem cell research, keep up with leading-edge reports from FRC’s Dr. David Prentice, click here.

• “Opponents of stem cell research appeal court loss,” Nedra Pickler, Forbes
• “Stem Cell Whiner Knopfler Not a Victim of WJS,” Wesley J. Smith, Scondhand Smoke
• “Projection Alert: Stem Cell Scientist Casts Moral Aspersion,” Wesley J. Smith, Secondhand Smoke

Marriage and Family
Adoption

• “The Trouble With International Adoption Is not Trafficking: It’s the Global Orphan Crisis,” Dr. Jane Aronson, The Huffington Post
• “Chart Shows Just How Much Planned Parenthood Cares About Adoption,” Elisabeth Meinecke, Townhall.com

Family Economics

• “Listen to FRC’s Henry Potrykus on Family Policy Matters,” FRC Press Office
• “For Some Boomers, Indulgence Trumps Inheritance,” Joe Carter, First Things
• “The Myth of Middle-Class Stagnation,” Steve Conover, The American
• “Jobs & deficits — the moral equation,” Rev. Robert A. Sirico, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
• “Living Miserably,” Editorial, Investor’s Business Daily
• “Are We More Like the Over-Spending President Than We Care to Admit?,” Nancy French, The Home Front
• “Many Americans see God’s hand in economy,” Cathy Lynn Grossman, The Washington Post

Family Structure

• “Marriage, Family Structure, and Children’s Educational Attainment,” Patrick F. Fagan, Leonie Ten Have, and Wendy Chan, Family Research Council
• “A “hubbub” on Marriage with Tony Jones & Lisa Miller,” Andrew Walker, Mere Orthodoxy
• “Divorce: The Spite in Everything,” Douglas E. Baker, Patheos
• “The Science of Shacking Up,” Caryn Rivadeneira, Christianity Today
• “Does Alzheimer’s Justify Divorce?,” John A. Sparks, The Center for Vision and Values

Media
Pornography

• “Texas Supreme Court Rules on State’s Adult Entertainment Fee,” Liberty Institute
• “PETA goes wild in porn-for-animal-rights bid,” Physorg.com

Internet

• “Facebook, Google, Apple Censoring Religious Speech?,” Stephanie Samuel, The Christian Post

Religion and Public Policy
Religious Liberty

• “Religious Freedom & Religious Extremism in the Aftermath of 9/11,” Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs
• “Illegal badgering of Christian groups proves costly to UW-Madison,” Jordan Lorence, Alliance Defense Fund
• “California City Fines Couple for Holding Bible Study in Their Home,” Madeleine Morgenstern, The Blaze

Religion in America

• “9/11 services show liberal politicizing of memorials,” Ken Klukowski, The Washington Examiner
• “Douglas Baker on Dominionism, Michele Bachmann, & Rick Perry,” Research on Religion Podcast
• “Capitol Hill Luncheon Briefing Series: Defending Religious Expression in Public Life,” The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
• “The red (state) scare,” Janie B. Cheaney, WORLD Magazine
• “ADF Contests Move to Ban ‘Religious Texts’ from Idaho Classrooms,” Alan Sears, Alliance Defense Fund
• “Time to End Clergy Tax Breaks?,” Gregory Jensen, The Acton Institute
• “Theology a hot issue in 2012 GOP campaign,” Rachel Zoll, Associated Press

Secularism

• “Our Lack of Moral Vocabulary,” Peter Wehner, Ethics and Public Policy Center
• “Morality Dilemma,” Dennis Prager, FrontPageMag.com
• “The Imperious Atheist,” Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic

International
Israel

• “Please, Mr. Netanyahu, Don’t Make Trouble!,” Robert Morrison, The American Thinker
• “The U.S. Must Support Israel At the U.N.,” Rick Perry, The Wall Street Journal
• “A State Free of Jews-Why Does This Sound Familiar?,” Lazar Berman, The Enterprise Blog
• “Palestinians Bring Their Intifada to the United Nations,” Joseph Klein, frontpagemag.com
• “American Jews and the Liberal Art of Demonization,” Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post
• “Between the Green Line and the Blue Line,” Michael J. Totten, City Journal

International Economy and Family

• “Greece, Germany and the Fate of the Euro,” Mark W. Hendrickson, The Center for Vision and Values
• “Greece on the Brink,” Mark W. Hendrickson, The Center for Vision and Values
• “Chinese Bail-Out of Europe Could Be Good News for Free Trade,” Max Fisher, The Atlantic

Religious Persecution

• “Int’l religious liberty report gets bad reviews,” Tom Strode, Baptist Press
• “Christian Accused of Blasphemy in Pakistan Dies in Jail,” Luiza Oleszczuk, The Christian Post
• “Pope tells Indian bishops not to be deterred by anti-Christian violence,” David Kerr, Catholic News Agency
• “Remarks at the Release of the 13th Annual Report on International Religious Freedom,” U.S. Department of State

Sharia law — U.S., foreign

• “Trial of a Thousand Years,” Charles Hill, The Hoover Institution

The Courts
Constitutional Issues

• “The Rise and Fall of Constitutional Government in America: A Guide to Understanding the Principles of the American Founding,” Thomas G. West and Douglas A. Jeffrey, The Claremont Institute
• “Supreme Court Preview: What Is in Store for October Term 2011?,” The Federalist Society
• “Fourth Circuit’s Ruling Against Virginia In ObamaCare Challenge Rested On Court’s Factual Error,” Riley, Virginia Virtucon
• “Pestritto on the Constitution,” Robinson O’Brien-Bours, The Ashbrook Center

Other News of Note

• “Is Chris Matthews Three-Fifths of a Person?,” Robert Morrison, North Platte Bulletin
• “Barack Obama’s patriotism, and everyone else’s,” Rob Schwarzwalder, Hernando Today
• “America’s Mark Twain Conservatives,” Marvin J. Folkertsma, Center for Vision and Values
• “Those Divisive Social Issues,” Leon H. Wolf, Redstate
• “The Importance of Culture,” Roger Scruton, The American Spectator

Book reviews

In a moving account of his experience in the White House, Tim Goeglein – vice-president for government affairs with Focus on the Family and former Special Assistant to George W. Bush- describes how the President’s faith informed his decisions and provided a moral context for historic decision-making. Learn more at The Man in the Middle.

• “Holocaust history,” Marvin Olasky, WORLD Magazine
• “Apples to Oranges?,” Anthony Domestico, Commonweal Magazine
• “The Great Debate,” Akhil Amar, Claremont Review of Books
• “Freedom’s March,” James G. Basker, Claremont Review of Books
• “Marrying Out,” John H. McWhorter, City Journal

Tags: Social Conservative Review

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