The Social Conservative Review: March 2, 2012
by Krystle Gabele
March 2, 2012
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Dear Friends:
The Founders of our country had what historian Ellis Sandoz has called “a paradoxical sense of the dignity and frailty of every human being.” They knew that man was unique in all creation: That God had made man in His image, had created him only “a little lower than the angels,” and had “numbered the very hairs of his head” (Gen. 1:26-27, Psalm 8:4-5, Luke 12:7). They also knew that man was a fallen being, scarred by sin, whose heart was “deceitful and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9).
It was this understanding that tempered their confidence in the capacity of man to govern himself. They did not believe in pure democracy, the direct and immediate approval of the 50 percent-plus-one. Consider John Adams’ wise counsel in his 1763 work, “An Essay on Man’s Lust for Power:” “Democracy will soon degenerate into anarchy, such an anarchy that every man will do what is right in his own eyes and no man’s life or property or reputation or liberty will be secure.”
The Founders believed that morally bankrupt leadership would exploit human selfishness such that coarseness, or license, would become entrenched in law. This would breed anarchy - a breakdown of civil order as people pursued, under sanction of law, ill-behavior - and this breakdown would eventually lead to dictatorship as people began to long for order and security.
Consider the words of former New York Gov. David Paterson, who was sworn-in after his predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, admitted to having had an extensive relationship with a prostitute. When confronted, Gov. Paterson acknowledged having had several extra-marital affairs, and offered this defense of his actions at a news conference on March 18, 2008: “I think (I) have a marriage like many Americans, maybe even like many of you. Elected officials are really just reflections of the people we represent.”
That’s a chilling proposition - especially since there is a ring of truth in it. “A state is nothing more than a reflection of its citizens,” said Ronald Reagan in a 1984 speech. “The more decent the citizens, the more decent the state.” Are we each sustaining and enhancing the personal character without which our lives, our families, our economy, and our country will be lost? There can be few more challenging questions for us as persons or as citizens.
Sincerely,
Rob Schwarzwalder
Senior Vice-President
Family Research Council
P.S. FRC’s Jeanne Monahan spoke on Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee on the President’s mandate that religious organizations providing health insurance offer plans including contraceptives, abortifacients, and sterilization. View her compelling testimony here.
Educational Freedom and Reform
Homeschooling
- “Why Homeschooling Is a Boon to a Liberal Society,” Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic
- “Homeschooled students succeed despite stereotypes on campus,” Nicole Arrocho, The Ithacan
- “Homeschooling: The preferred educational choice?,” Mary Jackson, WORLD Magazine
Legislation and Policy Proposals
- “College at Risk,” Andrew Delbanco, The Chronicle of Higher Education
- “Does School Choice Reduce Crime?,” David Deming, Education Next
- “IRS targeting charter schools?,” Bob Kellogg, OneNewsNow
- “Grading the Teachers,” Justin Paulette, The Ashbrook Center
- “The Fiscal Effects of School Choice Programs on Public School Districts,” Benjamin Scafidi, The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Government Reform
Regulation
- “Auto Bailout Now Backed, Stimulus Divisive,” Pew Research Center
- “The Consequences of Federal Regulatory Overreach,” Lurita Doan, Townhall
- “Regulation for Regulation’s Sake,” Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review Online
Waste/Fraud/Abuse
- “Leaders with Ginni Thomas: Ken Blackwell,” Jared Bridges, Family Research Council
- “Government cannot be run like a business,” Tom Mullen, The Daily Caller
- “A Whiff of Privatization,” Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson, The Center for Vision and Values
Health Care
Abstinence
- “Abstinence and contraception credited for drop in pregnancies,” Opinion, The Sun Herald
- “The Secret Sexual Revolution,” Tyler Charles, RELEVANT Magazine
Conscience Protection
- “FRC’s Jeanne Monahan Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee, Urges Repeal of Discriminatory Mandate,” Press Release, Family Research Council
- “Political Withdrawal?,” James V. Schall, S.J., The Catholic Thing
- “The Bishops and the Mandate: Principled Witness vs. Politics as Usual,” Robert P. George, Sherif Gergis, and Ryan T. Anderson, The Public Discourse
- “Religious Liberty: Obamacare’s First Casualty,” Grace-Marie Turner, The Galen Institute
- “Court Strikes Down Law Requiring Pharmacies to Dispense the Morning-After Pill,” The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
Health care reform: Political and Legislative efforts
- “Six Varying Perspectives on the Mandate,” Mark Misulia, First Things
- “Healthcare co-ops reveal radical connections,” Chris Woodward, OneNewsNow
- “Poll: Sharp split on health care repeal,” Tim Mak, The Politico
- “Healthcare fact of the week: Why do Americans spend more on healthcare? Because they can,” Christopher J. Conover, The Enterprise Blog
- “Real Wealth Weekly: Where health care stands today,” Grace-Marie Turner, The Galen Institute
Homosexuality
- “Censoring the ex-homosexual message,” Peter Sprigg, The Washington Times
- “What Dick Cheney Gets Wrong,” Robert Morrison, Family Research Council
- “What’s at Stake in the “Same-Sex Marriage” Debate?,” Melanie Baker, The Public Discourse
- “Gay marriage law likely will be up to voters,” Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun
- “California Asks Judges: Gay or Straight?,” Justin Shubow, FedSocBlog
Human Life and Bioethics
Abortion
- “The Hidden Health Risks of Terminating Pregnancy,” Krystle Weeks, Family Research Council
- “Sterilization at Catholic Hospitals,” Sandra Hapenny, The Catholic Thing
- “Alabama court’s wrongful death ruling used to recommend abandoning Roe ‘viability’ argument,” Fox News
- “The ‘Safe, Legal, and Rare’ Lie,” Rod Dreher, The American Conservative
- “Ohio Bill to De-Fund Planned Parenthood Gets Hearing,” Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com
- “Va. Governor Dilutes Pro-Life Bill,” Charlotte Hays, National Catholic Register
- “California Bill Would Let Nurses and Midwives Do Abortions,” Kristi Burton Brown, LifeNews.com
- “Georgetown co-ed: Please pay for us to have sex … We’re going broke buying birth control,” Tina Korbe, Hot Air
- “My Contraceptive Haul,” Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review Online
Bioethics and Biotechnology
- “President’s Bioethics Commission posts additional documents related to its historical investigation,” Medical XPress
- “Ethics in Bioethics,” Kaustuv Basu, Inside Higher Ed
- “Killing Baby “Non Persons”-All Grist for Bioethics Mill,” Wesley J. Smith, Secondhand Smoke
Euthanasia and End of Life Issues
- “Bill to Allow Organ Farming from Unconscious Patients!,” Wesley J. Smith, Secondhand Smoke
- “Anti Assisted Suicide Legislation in Georgia,” Wesley J. Smith, Secondhand Smoke
- “76% of patients neglect end-of-life care planning,” Kevin B. O’Reilly, American Medical News
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.
- “New Stem Cell Research Could End the Hard Stop of Female Fertility,” Jen Doll, The Atlantic
- “Komen: embryonic stem cell research ‘has not shown promise’ for breast cancer cure,” Christine Dhanagom, LifeSiteNews
- “Stem Cell Burgers Coming This Fall. Are You Ready For Lab-To-Table Eating?,” Forbes
Human Trafficking
- “The secret world of human trafficking in the Bluegrass,” Melissa Etezadi, WKYT
- “Girls Likes Us — Rachel Lloyd’s Memoir Illuminates the Sexual Exploitation of Children,” Marcia G. Yerman, The Huffington Post
Marriage and Family
Adoption
- “Utah Senate passes adoption bill,” Meredith Forrest Kulwicki, KSTU
- “Frozen embryo ‘open adoption’ raises hopes, questions,” Stacy Lu, Today
- “Virginia governor to sign controversial adoption measure,” Matthew A. Ward, Reuters
Family Economics
- “Tough Economic Times for Millennials,” Chris Gacek, Family Research Council
- “All You Need Is Gov: A Response to Obama’s “Biblical” Economics,” Wesley Gant, Values and Capitalism
- “Stewardship and State Coercion,” J.E. Dyer, Patheos
- “The Decline of Working-Class Catholic Families,” George J. Marlin, The Catholic Thing
- “The family crisis,” D.C. Innes, WORLD Magazine
Family Structure
- “The resident father,” La Shawn Barber, WORLD Magazine
- “Marriage vs. Women’s Equality,” Joseph Knippenberg, First Things
- “Role Reversal: The Problem of the Increasing Marginalization of Men,” Marlena Graves, Christianity Today
- “Why do most cohabiting parents marry?,” Tom O’Gorman, The Iona Institute
- “Leap Year Engagements & Hermeneutics,” Clint Archer, The Cripplegate
- “For Younger Mothers, Out-of-Wedlock Births Are the New Normal,” KJ Dell’Antonia, The New York Times
Media
Pornography
- “Despite Library Association’s views, pornography not protected,” Ernest Istook, The Deseret News
- “Senate passes bills to toughen up West Virginia child pornography laws,” Associated Press
Internet
- “Gambling, Lotteries, and Social Justice,” Jordan Ballor, Mere Comments
- “Smartphone Apps, Twitter Help Christians Maintain Lenten Promises,” Katherine Weber, The Christian Post
Media
- “Father Knows Best - Finally, Reasonable Parents Reject “The Bachelor”,” Nancy French, Patheos
- “Sex, Lies, and Memoirs: What’s the Cost of Writing a Tell-All Book?,” Peter Osnos, The Atlantic
- “Measuring the Slant,” James Q. Wilson, Claremont Review of Books
Religion and Public Policy
Religious Liberty
- “In Defense of Religious Freedom,” First Things
- “TX court: Churches can’t petition government,” Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow
- “Are Churches Subject to Section 501(c)(3) of the Tax Code?,” Erik Stanley, Alliance Defense Fund
- “Women Speak Out: Obamacare Mandate Tramples on Religious Liberty,” Sarah Torre, The Heritage Foundation
- “Court Lets NYC Churches Resume Worshipping at Schools,” Lillian Kwon, The Christian Post
Religion in America
- “Brewing Coffee, Sharing Christ,” Rob Schwarzwalder, Family Research Council
- “Debating The Ethical Foundation Of Government,” Citizen Tom
- “Libertarians, Religious Conservatives, and the Myth of Social Neutrality,” Joe Carter, The Acton Institute
- “The God gap,” Cal Thomas, WORLD Magazine
- “Wired: When God Talks To You, It’s Called Prayer…,” Shaun Kenney, ShaunKenney.com
Secularism
- “In Theory: Can religion and secularism coexist?,” The Pasadena Sun
- “Why This Atheist Still Needs His Former Pastor,” Chris Stedman, RELEVANT Magazine
International
Israel
- “Sir Isaac Newton’s Theological Writings Posted Online by the National Library of Israel,” Chris Gacek, Family Research Council
- “Iran and Obama Share a Common Goal: Stopping Israel,” Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary Magazine
- “Encountering Peace: Q&A on the future of the Middle East,” Gershon Baskin, The Jerusalem Post
International Economy and Family
- “Oil Drops From Nine-Month High After IMF Warns on Global Economy,” Ben Sharples, Bloomberg
- “A tale of two narratives,” The Economist
Religious Persecution
- “The Nuba People of Sudan: Black, Christian, and Under Attack,” Rob Schwarzwalder, Family Research Council
- “It’s Always the Religious Right,” Rod Dreher, The American Conservative
- “Jeremy Lin’s Christian Faith Inspires Persecuted Christians in China,” Setrige Crawford, The Christian Post
Sharia law — U.S., foreign
- “The Dangers of Anti-Sharia Laws,” Robert K. Vischer, First Things
- “Muslims and the First Amendment,” Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary Magazine
The Courts
Constitutional Issues
- “Supreme Court to decide free speech challenge to military medals law,” Ken Klukowski, The Washington Examiner
- “Supreme Court to Hear Texas Affirmative Action Case,” Justin Shubow, FedSoc Blog
- “Judicial Watch Sues for More Kagan Details,” Carrie Severino, National Review Online
- “Brad Smith: SCOTUS Justices Don’t “Speak Truth to Power.” They ARE Power.,” Paul Sherman, Institute for Justice
Other News of Note
- “Satan and Santorum: Perspective from Reagan’s Evil Empire Speech,” Paul G. Kengor, The Center for Vision and Values
- “After Liberalism?,” R.R. Reno, First Things
- “The New Rebellions,” Guy Sorman, City Journal
- “Facing Up to Darwin,” Roger Scruton, The American Spectator
Book reviews
- “Overcoming the Merely Therapeutic: Human Excellence and the Moral Life,” Gregory Jensen, The Acton Institute
- “Beauty Will Save The World,” Brian Zahnd, Christianity Today
- “Of Thee We Sing,” William Gonch, Claremont Review of Books