What was the teacher’s offense? Apparently, the teacher threatened a student with detention if she refused—as she repeatedly did—to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. The teacher sent the student to the counselor’s office for her refusal to stand.

The ACLU immediately invoked the Supreme Court’s ruling in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943). That case is often cited as a hallmark of American civil liberties, especially remarkable because it was handed down while the United States was engaged in a world war to defend democracy.

But the Court in 1943 said that students cannot be required to salute the flag or recite the Pledge. That was quite right.

If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us.

The Court did not say that students could not be required to stand quietly while other students recited the Pledge of Allegiance. If we stop for a moment, we can all readily agree that it would be wrong to require, for instance, the children of legal resident aliens to pledge their allegiance to our flag. In the famed 1943 case, the parents of the children who declined to take part in the flag salute and pledge were Jehovah’s Witnesses. These people had a religious conviction that led them to regard pledging allegiance to the flag as a violation of the Commandment against making graven images. We should not force these students to violate their consciences.

We are constantly told by liberals that the purpose of education is to prepare young people to take part in today’s complex and multi-cultural society. Does it? Surely, anyone attending a baseball game at Baltimore’s Camden Yards between a Canadian team and the home team is familiar with the two national anthems that are played. O Canada and The Star-Spangled Banner are both sung. What are Americans expected to do during the playing of the Canadian national anthem? Just stand silently and to show respect. It’s the civil and neighborly thing to do.

There’s rich historical irony in this, too. For the words of United States’ national anthem were composed at nearby Ft. McHenry during the War of 1812. Those “rockets’ red glare” and “bombs bursting in air” were weapons of our British enemies. And the Canadians’ national anthem contains this line: “O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.”

Against whom exactly were the Canadians standing guard? Hint: It wasn’t moose or polar bears. It was us. The Americans repeatedly had failed repeatedly to invade and conquer Canada when it was a British colony. But now, Americans and Canadians are the best of friends. We stand politely for each other’s national anthems, which may be the only two such anthems in the world that are actually written against each other.

Is the Montgomery County school case too trivial to merit national attention? No. It illustrates how classroom discipline and American patriotism are under constant assault by the ACLU. Our tax dollars are funding this radical outfit. Thomas Jefferson said “to require a man to provide contributions of money for the propagation of opinions he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.” Surely, the fact that the ACLU uses our tax money against us is a gross violation of our rights.

Does it matter? John Walker Lindh is currently sitting in federal prison. He is the so-called American Taliban who was convicted of fighting against Americans in Afghanistan. Young Lindh was educated in Montgomery County Public Schools. Was he taught anything about why he should be loyal to his country? Why jihadism is a threat to all our rights? I seriously doubt it. By punishing a teacher who simply tried to give students the opportunity to express their patriotism and support for our country during a time of war, the Montgomery County public schools are doing nothing to avoid future American Talibans.

• “High Court Takes Up Case of Cross on Public Land,” Associated Press
• “Texas Battle on Gay Marriage Looms,” James C. McKinley, Jr., The New York Times
• “Gays and lesbians set to march on D.C. after months of Obama disappointment,” Lee-Anne Goodman, The Canadian Press
• “Md. university system devising policy on student displays of porn films,” Childs Walker, The Baltimore Sun
• “Pro-lifers want Calif. abortion mill investigated,” Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow
• “Campaign Launched to Protect Christians from U.N. Resolution,” Ethan Cole, The Christian Post
• “Russia Court Throws Out Lesbian Couple Marriage Request,” Reuters
• “Capitol Christmas tree controversy,” Marcia Segelstein, WORLD Magazine

Wrong. They should take a look at a front-page article in the Washington Post about the newest claim by evolutionary scientists. The scientists believe that a primate skeleton found in Ethiopia is that of a human ancestor—one that lived 4.4 million years ago. Almost at the end of this long piece, the article describes what C. Owen Lovejoy, an anthropologist at Kent State University, says about the social organization of this species:

The males, he argues, pair-bonded with females. Lovejoy sees male parental investment in the survival of offspring as a hallmark of the human lineage.

So, how long has marriage (i.e., “pair-bonding”) been a male-female union? About four million, four hundred thousand years, if this secular scientist is to be believed. And what was its purpose? To insure “male parental investment in the survival of offspring”—something which the advocates of same-sex “marriage” contend is now no longer necessary.

And what will we be discarding, if we change the definition of marriage from being a union of a man and a woman? Only “a hallmark of the human lineage.”

Marriage is not merely a religious institution, nor merely a civil institution. It is, rather, a natural institution, whose definition as the union of male and female is rooted in the order of nature itself. And it doesn’t take a Bible to prove it. In this case, evolutionary theory points to the exact same conclusion.

Washington Post:

‘Ardi’ May Rewrite the Story of Humans: 4.4 Million-Year-Old Primate Helps Bridge Evolutionary Gap (see third-to-last paragraph)

The major news coming from the 2009 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s biennial Churchwide Assembly has been the change in policy related to persons in gay and lesbian relationships. The policy change allows congregations to determine for themselves if they wish to offer blessings of same-gender relationships and if they are open to calling a pastor who is in a same-gender relationship.

But, he then moves quickly past the issue, noting the ELCA’s broad partnership of “full communion” with, “the Reformed Church, The UCC, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Moravians, The Episcopal Church and now the United Methodist Church.”  Interestingly, each of these denominations have taken similar measures as the ELCA did this summer.

The point, the Rev. Dr. Dunkin is trying to make is that, regardless of the controversy, the ELCA is still doing some incredible things and, implicitly, the vote to ordain practicing homosexuals not only doesn’t affect their overall ministry, but actually may improve their ability to link with others in an effort to do good deeds to this world.

Yet, the Rev. Dr. Dunkin fails to address a fundamental point vis-a-vis the recent ELCA vote: “What would LUTHER do?”

Continue Reading at The Family Council of West Virginia’s Engage Blog

• “Catania to introduce same-sex marriage bill,” Melissa Castro, Washington Business Journal
• “To heaven from Times Square,” Julia Duin, The Washington Times
• “Abortion and Health Care Reform,” Editorial, New York Times
• “Chicago City Council panel backs plan to limit anti-abortion activists,” Hal Dardick, Chicago Tribune
• “Senate committee restores $50 million in abstinence ed funding,” Catholic News Agency
• “When is a cross not a Christian symbol?,” Erwin Chemerinsky and Joseph Infranco, Los Angeles Times
• “‘Imagine No Religion’ Billboards Hit Detroit,” Jennifer Riley, The Christian Post
• “Spiritual spirit squad squelched,” Pete Chagnon, OneNewsNow.com
• “Planned Parenthood Says Pro-Lifers Winning, Misleads on Insurance, Abortion,” Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com
• “Personal Stories Reveal How Pregnancy Resource Centers Empower Women, Help Families,” Penny Starr, CNSNews.com
• “Most Stay-at-Home Moms Start That Way, Study Finds,” Donna St. George, The Washington Post

• “Judge blocks key parts of new Arizona abortion law,” Paul Davenport, Associated Press
• “Pentagon airs criticism of ‘don’t ask’,” Bryan Bender, The Boston Globe
• “Should Government Have E-Record of Every Woman Who’s Had an Abortion?,” Terence P. Jeffrey, CNSNews.com
• “Parents’ Rights Amendment Reaches 120 Co-Sponsors,” Christian Newswire
• “Panel votes to restore abstinence education money,” Associated Press
• “Why are fewer Americans identifying with a religion?,” Wayne Slater, The Dallas Morning News
• “Worker misconduct cases rise at science foundation,” Associated Press

• “Same-sex marriage activists seek repeal of California’s Prop. 8,” Daniel B. Wood, Christian Science Monitor
• “Boston College Professor’s Appearance in Pro-Gay Marriage Ad Sparks Outrage,” Ana Lopez, Fox News **Note: This headline should reflect that the professor sparked outrage by being part of a ad in support of the Maine Marriage Initiative.
• “A new push to define ‘person,’ and to outlaw abortion in the process,” Robin Abcarian, Los Angeles Times
• “Spain unveils abortion law change,” Steve Kingstone, BBC News
• “In revolt against euthanasia,” Kathryn Jean Lopez, The Jamestown Sun
• “Coaxing stem cells to repair damaged tissue,” Frank D. Roylance, The Baltimore Sun
• “SD measure would ease stem cell research limits,” Associated Press
• “Christian Poverty Fighters Call for ‘Real Action’ Following G-20 Summit,” Aaron J. Leichman, Christian Post
• “Muslim prayer event fails to draw expected numbers,” Fred Jackson, OneNewsNow

• “Boston’s Roman Catholic Cardinal Says He Confronted Obama about Abortion in Health Care Plan at Ted Kennedy’s Funeral,” Terence P. Jeffrey, CNSNews.com
• “Gay Ice Cream?,” Elisabeth Meinecke, Human Events
• “Montana AG approves language for abortion restriction initiative,” Montana’s News Station.com
• “Jack Kevorkian Promotes Euthanasia Again, Al Pacino HBO Movie Out Next Year,” Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com
• “What Would Jesus Insure?,” Joseph Loconte, The Weekly Standard
• “Muslim teen fears for life after changing religion,” John Couwels, CNN
• “R-71 names still under wraps as judge weighs case,” Rachel La Corte, Seattle Times
• “Reformed Body Says Lutheran Gay Vote Does Not Impair Partnership,” Lillian Kwon, The Christian Post
• “Common grace,” Marcia Segelstein, WORLD Magazine
• “Two Huge Stem Cell Trials Are In The Works. Guess Which Type,” William Teach, Right Wing News
• “Missing Critical Thinking,” Shane Vander Hart, Caffeinated Thoughts

Here’s some articles of interest for your morning:

• “New Method For Safer Bone Marrow Transplants For Sick Children,” Medical News Today
• “Wuerl Ups Opposition To Gay Marriage,” Tim Craig, The Washington Post
• “I Told Me So: Self Deception and the Christian Life,” Matthew Lee Anderson, The Evangelical Outpost
• “Abortion laws ’still won’t protect doctors’,” Brigid Andersen, ABC News (Australia)
• “End-of-life fears,” Emily Bregel, Chattanooga Times Free Press
• “Adult Stem Cells May Help Avoid Hip Replacements,” Wesley J. Smith, Secondhand Smoke
• “Normalizing transgenderism in schools,” Pete Chagnon, OneNewsNow
• “The issue of social justice is far bigger than the abortion debate,” Kathryn Jean Lopez, New York Daily News
• “Group Asks Court to Reconsider Removing Girl from Home School,” Joshua Rhett Miller, Fox News
• “Individual Catholic Bishops Speak Out Against Pro-Abortion Health Care Bills,” Christine, A Catholic View
• “How then shall we educate?,” Amy Henry, WORLD Magazine
• “A Stem-Cell Discovery Could Help Diabetics,” Alice Park, Time
• “Idaho school sues state over Bible plan,” Associated Press

• “Clinical Trials Are Testing Stem Cells as Heart Failure Treatment,” Sarah Baldauf, U.S. News & World Report (August 18, 2009)

“Researchers’ significant interest in using stem cells to treat heart failure arises, in part, because the disease is so prevalent. The American Heart Association estimates 5.7 million Americans live with the disease and 670,000 new cases are diagnosed annually. “When you put [stem cells] into a heart, some can differentiate to become blood vessel and others to become heart muscle cells,” explains James Willerson, president of the Texas Heart Institute in Houston and a principal investigator of a separate, National Institutes of Health-sponsored stem cell trial for heart failure. It is important, he says, that stem cells also “have substances that recruit other cells and promote life.” This combination holds incredibly powerful potential for not only rejuvenating but rebuilding organs and tissue and turning back the clock for ailing patients. Willerson is optimistic about the therapeutic future of stem cells, which can be extracted from fat cells, hair cells, and other diverse cell types. “I believe we will be able to regenerate the whole heart of a human being with stem cells,” he says.”

• “Medical Groups Promoted HPV Vaccine Using Drug Company Money,” Rob Stein, The Washington Post (August 18, 2009)
• “DART Driver Refused Bus With Atheist Sign,” KCCI-8 Des Moines (August 18, 2009)

“Des Moines Area Regional Transit confirms a driver refused to drive a bus with an atheist advertisement Monday.”

• “Poll: Majority of Americans Understand Health Care Bills Mean Abortion Funding,” Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com (August 19, 2009)

“The pro-life movement has been working overtime to educate Americans about the fact that the health care bills in Congress would result in massive abortion funding. Despite a slew of mainstream media stories to the contrary, the public appears to have received the message.

A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released yesterday shows a majority of Americans agreed that the health care bills “will likely use taxpayer dollars to pay for women to have abortions.”

The poll found 50 percent agreed that is true while 37 percent of Americans don’t believe that is likely.”

• “Law Requiring Ultrasounds for Abortions Is Struck Down,” Kari Lydersen, The Washington Post (August 18, 2009)

“An Oklahoma judge decided Tuesday that doctors do not need to perform ultrasounds and offer women detailed information about the tests before performing abortions, striking down the strictest such law in the country.”

• “Study Using Embryonic Stem Cells Is Delayed,” Bloomberg News (August 19, 2009)

“The Geron Corporation said on Tuesday that regulators had held up its study of a therapy for injured spinal cords before even one patient could be enrolled, delaying the first human trial using embryonic stem cells.”

• “Christian Law Firm Fights ‘Ridiculous’ Criminal Charges Against School Officials,” Nathan Black, The Christian Post (August 18, 2009)