Free Republic

(CNSNews.com) - A Zogby poll commissioned by the Seattle-based Discovery Institute says more than three-quarters of Americans would like teachers to have the freedom to discuss both the strengths and weaknesses of Darwinian evolution, with an even higher number reported among Democrats...

The NHS is telling pupils they have a 'right' to an enjoyable sex life in a leaflet being sent to schools. It encourages them to consider an 'orgasm a day' as a way reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke.And if they can't get sex, the leaflet says children should consider masturbation.  The advice appears in guidance circulated to parents, teachers and youth workers. It says experts have for too long concentrated on the need for 'safe sex' and loving relationships - while ignoring the main reason people have sex, for enjoyment.But family groups condemned the guidance last...

CNSNews.com) – Former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders got a standing ovation after speaking at the annual summit of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice where she advocated health clinics offering contraceptives on public school campuses and comprehensive sex education in the schools starting in kindergarten.

I would welcome fellow Freeper input on an exchange I had with the police last night. First a little background. I've got 20 years in the military, started out my life giving police officers a great deal of respect and knee jerking to their defense. Over the course of years, however, I've lost a lot of respect for the police via watching continual police traffic violations, watching unprofessional behavior and seeing shows of petty tyranny over their fellow citizens. Although I'd still like to be wholeheartedly pro-law and think the way to get respectable enforcement officers is to demand professionalism,...

Karen England Sacramento, Calif., Jun 27, 2009 / 08:04 am (CNA).- The Modesto City School Board on Monday voted to allow junior high and high school students to leave campus during the school day for “confidential medical services,” such as abortions, without the consent or knowledge of their parents. The school board adopted the new policy in a preliminary vote of 4-3, the California Catholic Daily says. The board members will take another vote on the issue on July 13.Karen England, executive director of the pro-family lobbying group Capitol Resource Institute, attended the meeting and reported that four people...

Dear Friend of Parental Rights, Monday in a Harlem middle school, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice told a group of 120 students that administration officials are actively discussing “when and how it might be possible to join” (that is, ratify) the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). As before, she also communicated what a disgrace it is that the U.S. would stand with only Somalia against such a widely-accepted treaty. This is the first direct public statement by the Obama administration that it will seek ratification of the UN CRC. In my 30 years...

June 11, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Kevin Jennings, who was appointed by Obama to be the assistant deputy secretary of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools inside the Department of Education, has always been interested in promoting the homosexualist agenda to schoolchildren. Jennings, cofounder and executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), told attendees at a GLSEN conference over a decade ago that he looked forward to the day when promoting homosexuality in schools will be seen in a positive light.

"The spread of small arms creates a serious global problem and requires an equally urgent response because the lives and futures of children are at stake. These weapons have extinguished more young lives than they have protected." – Carol Bellamy, Executive Director, UNICEF The vast majority of Americans, regardless of their opinions on the increasing scope of international law, agree with the proposition that children should not be used as soldiers. Accordingly, much of the UN literature that addresses children and guns deals with this military-related issue. However, a second theme is quickly found in virtually all UN pronouncements about...

“The spread of small arms creates a serious global problem and requires an equally urgent response because the lives and futures of children are at stake. These weapons have extinguished more young lives than they have protected.” – Carol Bellamy, Executive Director, UNICEF The vast majority of Americans, regardless of their opinions on the increasing scope of international law, agree with the proposition that children should not be used as soldiers. Accordingly, much of the UN literature that addresses children and guns deals with this military-related issue. However, a second theme is quickly found in virtually all UN pronouncements about...

The Alameda, Calif., public schools are adopting a curriculum that will require first graders to read literature that equates same-sex unions with a family made up of a mother, father and child. Parents will not be allowed to opt their first graders out of the curriculum. Members of the Alameda United School District (AUSD) school board voted 3 to 2 last week to implement the “Safe Schools” curriculum, which supporters say is aimed at stopping anti-homosexual bullying in schools. The program includes a between one and four lessons each year between grades 1 and 5 to introduce students to “LGBT”...

After one week on the lam, Colleen Hauser and her son, 13-year-old Daniel, returned home on Monday, May 25, 2009. They had fled the family's Minnesota farm when a judge ordered Daniel to undergo chemotherapy.  Because Colleen Hauser returned voluntarily, she was not arrested.  Brown County Family Services wanted Daniel to stay in the county's custody.  But, the young boy was left in the care of his parents.  This emotionally charged incident, reported widely by the media, raises a very important issue.  Who determines what is best for children?  The State was concerned about the boy’s health and life.  So...

The Unified School District in Alameda California has passed a curriculum by a 3-2 vote that includes includes a compulsory 45-minute Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) lesson for kindergarten through fifth grade. The kindergarten lesson will study sexual orientation stereotypes with childrens books like "And Tango Makes Three" a story about two gay male penguins. School Officials say they will not allow parents to opt their kids out of the program because it falls under "anti-discrimination provisions of California law.Here is a video of the School Board Meeting. 3:03 Same Sex Lessons for Kindergartners! Gay penguins?Here are the Members...

ALAMEDA — School district leaders have approved lesson plans for kindergartners through fifth graders that aim to curb anti-gay bullying. Trustees voted 3-2 on Tuesday to adopt the Safe Schools curriculum, which supporters say will help children of gay parents feel welcome at school and help end anti-gay teasing and bullying on the playground. The lessons also aim to provide a safe environment for children to learn, as well as to offer a framework for teachers to break down stereotypes and teach kids about different types of families. "The need for this is real," said Beth Kromer, a fourth-grade teacher...

Authorities sought to arrest the mother of a 13-year-old boy with cancer who refuses chemotherapy after she fled with her son and missed a court hearing Tuesday on his welfare. A judge issued an arrest warrant and ordered that Daniel Hauser be placed in a foster home and be sent for an immediate examination by a pediatric oncologist so he can get treated for Hodgkins lymphoma.

A controversial member of President Barack Obama’s faith-based council said that part of the administration’s role in promoting responsible fatherhood should include moving beyond America’s “heteronormative view of fatherhood.” Harry Knox, appointed last month to the 25-member President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, has drawn fire for inflammatory comments about the Catholic Church and Pope Benedict XVI. Knox talked about fatherhood and other issues the council would work on in a May 11 PBS interview, which aired two days before a May 13 letter – signed by nearly two dozen prominent Catholics, including House Minority Leader John Boehner...

Any parent would be appaled to learn their child was taken out of the classroom for a mandatory mental health evaluation without their knowledge or consent. But such is the case in Florida where more than 3 out or every 1000 children, on average will be involuntarily committed for psychiatric examination. 3,365 separate involuntary commitments were performed, in 2007 directly from school grounds. Over 3000 separate incidences of children being escorted, mandatory, from school to a psychiatric receiving facility and held in a secured ward, separate from their parents, and without their parents consent in one year.

I'm willing to countenance the possibility that Barack Obama genuinely believes that the DC voucher program is not helping the students who participate. Here's what I don't understand though: how come the Obama girls benefit from leaving the DC public school system? Surely, if it doesn't make any difference, the Obama girls would do just as well in ordinary, democratic, thoroughly American public schools as in an elitist Quaker institution. Wouldn't it bring wonderful diversity to both the school, and the Obama daughters, to have the children of the president rubbing shoulders with the children of the district's more ordinary...

In their efforts to improve the situation of women around the globe, a handful in the international community believe there should be no honoring of motherhood in public policy since motherhood "traps" women in lowly domestic endeavors instead of using their talents in the workforce.

A 13-year-old boy from Sleepy Eye and his parents are ignoring the advice of cancer specialists that the teenager undergo chemotherapy and radiation. Daniel Hauser has Hodgkin's lymphoma, considered by doctors to be one of the most curable forms of cancer. Danny, as he is known, and his parents have turned to natural therapies, such as herbs and vitamins, instead. They're scheduled to be in court Friday to defend their decision. Brown County Attorney James Olson has filed a petition accusing Daniel's parents, Colleen and Anthony Hauser, of child neglect and endangerment. Olson is asking a judge to order the...

Larry Armstrong has been volunteering with his local Boy Scout branch for years, chaperoning trips, serving on the council committee, even becoming certified in archery instruction for a day camp. But Armstrong, at 6-foot, 2-inches tall and about 370 pounds, may no longer qualify for some scout outings because he's overweight, part of a new push by the national organization to ensure the scouts and their volunteers are healthy. A new mandatory weight requirement by the national Boy Scouts of America that will take effect next January has some longtime volunteers concerned they will be left out of trips they've...