my care2
make a difference

community & fun

shares

share your passions, stories, inspirations, and more

Nov 19, 2008
Focus: Corporate Responsibility
Action Request: Write E-Mail
Location: United States
In this economy, we don't need the big financial institutions looking to our credit cards to make up for their losses. But right now the credit card companies hold all the "cards," and they can hike interest rates on our balances or charge us higher fees for no reason whatsoever.

The Senate may vote on a bill that will rein in these abuses. The House has already passed its bill, so real reform is within reach. I just sent my Senators an email in support of this bill. Would you take a moment to do the same?

Among other things, the bill would prohibit credit card companies from arbitrarily hiking interest rates on your card balances, and stop 'bait and switch' clauses that let them charge fees and change interest rates for any reason whatsoever.

The bill will help level the playing field for consumers and help ensure that a deal is a deal when it comes to your credit card company. The more consumers the Senate hears from, the better chance we have at putting Main Street, not just Wall Street, first.

You can take action at:
http://www.creditcardreform.org

Thank you!

A hand up, not a hand-out

As Washington struggles with the economic mess, there’s one common-sense financial reform they can do for you right now -- stop companies from squeezing your credit cards for extra cash./>


These reforms won’t cost the Treasury or taxpayers one cent. Rather, they’ll stop the card companies from costing you more money. The House passed these reforms; tell the Senate to do the same now so we can keep our cash to survive in this economy/>.

Stop card companies from randomly hiking the interest rate on your balances for no reason whatsoever
Require them to more fairly distribute your payments to high-interest debt first
Stop them from changing the terms of your agreement until your card expires
Stop heavy marketing of credit to college students
These reforms aren’t a hand-out. They simply make sure you get the credit deal you signed up for, and close loopholes that let the big banks get more of your money.

Tell your Senators to pass this bill now. You shouldn’t pay higher interest rates and fees because the banks need a way out of this financial crisis.
Visibility: Everyone
Tags: , ,
Posted: Nov 19, 2008 2:21pm
Aug 6, 2008
Focus: Government
Action Request: Petition
Location: United States
Hello,
  If you havent already signed, please sign and share! Thanks!
Ruth

From the Desk of:
Steve Elliott, President,
Grassfire.org Alliance


8/6/2008

Dear Ruth,

Did you know that your tax dollars helped construct a visitor's center that you can't visit?

That's right. Taxpayers forked over $200,000 worth of federal transportation dollars to commemorate the birthplace of President James Monroe, and it remains closed!

Before skipping town last week for a five week paid vacation-- compliments of U.S. taxpayers, the House passed a bill containing more than 500 earmarks--like the one above, and then no doubt patted each other on the back for a job well done.

Ruth, this kind of arrogant, unaccountability from our supposed leadership brings my blood to a boil. But nothing got me as worked up as reading about the "Parking Garage to Nowhere."

According to investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson, Rep. Paul Kajorski (D-11 PA), funneled more than $3 million in taxpayer monies to build the Kanjorski Center.
Now built, the building has been sitting vacant since 2005, with the city picking up the $15,000 a month tab.

If that's not outrageous enough, Kanjorski is attempting to siphon an additional $5.6 million for a parking garage project for his vacant building.

When told federal aid can be applied to parking garages that serve mass transit, the 12 term Congressman bristled saying, "I don't think the rule should have any attention paid to it; because in Congress we have our own rules."

Later in the same story, Kanjorski even refers to our moneyas "free money."

Click here to see the video:

http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=9884&RID=15632311

Ruth, help me stop the corrupt nature of earmarking by forwarding this outrageous message to 25-30 friends--urging them to sign our national petition to stop earmarking.
http://www.grassfire.org/96/petition.asp

Also, take a moment to call the Congressman, and let him know what you think of his "Parking Garage to Nowhere."

Here are his contact numbers:

202-225-6511 (DC)
570-825-2200 Wilkes-Barre
570-496-1011 Scranton
570-895-4176 Mount Pocono

As citizens, we must continue to sound the alarm on government abuse of our tax dollars, and work with those in Congress who do want to put an end to earmarking.

Contrary to what Kanjorski thinks, there are rules, and taxpayer money isn't free.

Please forward this message today.

Thank you for standing with Grassfire!

Steve

P.S: To date, more than 150,671 citizens have signed our petition.I'd like to add another 25,000 signatures in time for our next presentation on Capitol Hill.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
(Note: Please do not "reply" directly to this e-mail message. This
e-mail address is not designed to receive your personal messages.
To contact Grassfire.org with comments, questions or to change
your status, see link at the end.)
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ + Feedback or comments on this update?

Go to
FireSociety.com and post your comments so that the Grassfire
staff along with thousands of citizens can benefit from your
thoughts and opinions:

http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=9885&RID=15632311


Visibility: Everyone
Tags: , ,
Posted: Aug 6, 2008 11:22am
Jul 28, 2008

Heres the link to article:

http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/documents/PreventingCSE-English.pdf

The words 

 

 

 

sexual exploitation evoke a number of reactions and feelings. Perhaps one of the most devastating is silence – our inability or unwillingness as a society to speak about this horrific problem. That same silence may also impact a child who has been sexually exploited. Children may be frightened or intimidated into not telling. They may feel they won’t be believed or what happened is their fault. All of these feelings may cause them to hide their pain.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

 

 

 

 

® (NCMEC) is working to bring sexual exploitation to the forefront; raise awareness about this issue; and help combat its negative, long-term effects. NCMEC wants to help families and communities support the courageous child victims who come forward so they may begin healing. And NCMEC wants to make more people aware of the problem so other children don’t have to suffer in silence.

 

NCMEC wants people to know that the sexual exploitation of a child has multiple victims and the effects may extend like tentacles into the community. Often people feel powerless to fight its insidious nature because the problem seems too huge and overwhelming. Or people really don’t want to confront the issue of who the perpetrator might be. People don’t want to believe it could be a person in a position of trust or responsibility living in their own neighborhoods.

But there are steps that need to be taken. When taken they would lead to a reduction in the incidence of sexual exploitation, an improvement in how we protect our children from this scourge, and caring and support for those children who have suffered at the hands of these offenders. It’s all about empowerment and giving children, parents and guardians, and communities the strength to overcome what they have lost, so they may

live healthy and productive lives.

 

What Families May Do

 

Listen to your children. Pay attention if they tell you they don’t want to be with someone or go somewhere.

 

Take the time to talk to your children. Encourage open communication and learn how to be an active listener.

 

Notice when someone shows one or all of your children a great deal of attention or begins giving them gifts.

 

Teach your children they have the right to say NO to any touch or actions by others that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. Teach them to immediately tell you if this happens. Reassure them you’re there to help and it is okay to tell you anything.

 

Be sensitive to any changes in your children’s behavior or attitude.

 

Look and listen to small cues and clues that something may be troubling your children because children are not always comfortable disclosing disturbing events or feelings.

 

If your children do confide problems to you, strive to remain calm, noncritical, and nonjudgmental. Listen compassionately to their concern, and work with them to get the help they need to resolve the problem.

 

Be sure to screen babysitters and caregivers. Many states now have a public registry allowing parents and guardians to check out individuals for prior criminal records and sex offenses. Check references with other families who have used the caregiver or babysitter. Once you have chosen the caregiver, drop in unexpectedly to see how your children are doing. Ask your children how the experience with the caregiver was, and carefully listen to the response.

 

Provide oversight and supervision of your children’s computer use. Know who they’re communicating with online and where they may have access to computers. Establish rules and guidelines for computer use for your children.

 

Be involved in your children’s activities. As an active participant, you’ll have a better opportunity to observe how the adults in charge interact with your children.

 

Work with your children’s school to institute sound child-safety programs as part of their curriculum.

 

Practice basic safety skills with your children and discuss their safety openly and honestly. There is no substitute for your attention and supervision. Being available and taking time to really know and listen to your children helps build feelings of safety and security.

What Schools May Do

 

 

Make sure teachers, volunteers, and anyone else with access to children is properly screened and trained.

Implement and enforce a policy for reporting child sexual exploitation and handling disclosures from children.

Establish protocols and screening for school computer use. Provide training for students and teachers regarding the acceptable use of computers.

Choose or develop child-safety programs for the school that are based on accepted educational theories; are appropriate for the child’s age and levels of education and development; are designed to offer conceptsthat will help children build self-confidence in order to better handle and protect themselves in all types of situations, use multiple program components repeated several years in a row, and use qualified presenters who include role-playing, behavioral rehearsal, feedback, and active participation in presentations.

Assess your environmental structure and take every possible step to make it safer for children. Make certain children are properly supervised both in the classroom and around the campus.

Make certain campus security is in place so all visitors are screened through the office and unusualincidents/visitors are handled.

 

Provide programs and roles for parents and guardians to make them part of their children’s safety and security at school and while going to and from school.

What Communities May Do

 

Notify the public of the sex-offender registry and community-notification requirements. Schedule town meetings and community seminars to raise awareness about these policies and issues.

 

Support local law-enforcement efforts to establish neighborhood crime-watch programs. Report suspicious persons/activities to local law enforcement.

 

Support aggressive prosecution of offenders who victimize children within local communities and have an action plan and protocol in place to alert the community and assuage their fears when a high-profile arrest is made.

 

Mobilize community groups and child-serving organizations to help make your community more “child safe.” Determine if available services and programs are adequate to address the needs ofyour community.

 

Assess local law-enforcement technology resources, and advocate for systems and other technology available to quickly disseminate information about abducted and missing children. Such systems include

the

Lost Child Alert Technology Resource (LOCATERTM) that provides law enforcement, free-ofcharge,

the tools and technology needed to rapidly disseminate images of and information about missing

children both electronically and on posters. Implement and support

America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency

R

 

esponse (AMBER) Alert in the community through local media and law enforcement involvement to rapidly disseminate images and information to the public, via radio, television, and cable“airwaves,” in serious child-abduction cases. Although these programs will not prevent sexual exploitation,

they allow for a rapid and effective mobilization if a child is abducted.

Advocate use of Code Adam in local retail stores to rapidly locate lost children by using standard protocols and procedures. An immediate response to a lost child minimizes the possibility that the child will be taken from the store.

Institute free child-identification programs in the community to help ensure all parents and guardians have a recent, clear, and readily available photograph of their children.

 

 

 

 

Advocate for meaningful legislative change with elected officials. It is only through unified and diligent preparation and persistent prevention efforts that the sexual exploitationof children may be effectively addressed. For information regarding NCMEC’s resources to help prevent the sexual exploitation of children, visit www.cybertipline.com

 or call 1-800-843-5678.

Information reprinted respectively from NCMEC’s

Know the Rules…General Tips for Parents and Guardians to Help Keep Their Children Safer, KIDS AND COMPANY: TOGETHER FOR SAFETY, and Guidelines for Programs to Reduce Child Victimization:

A Resource for Communities When Choosing a Program to Teach Personal Safety to Children.

Copyright © respectively 2000, 1988, and 1999 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

All rights reserved. This project was supported by Grant No. GA97-0001 awarded by the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Department of

Homeland Security. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

® and CyberTipline® are registered service marks of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Copyright © 2003 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. All rights reserved.

This article is reprinted and adapted from the Spring 2003 issue of

The Front Line published by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. All rights reserved.

 

Visibility: Everyone
Tags:
Posted: Jul 28, 2008 7:50am
Jul 28, 2008

In June 2003, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in conjunction with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the U.S. Department of Justice, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section launched the Innocence Lost National Initiative (ILNI). Their combined efforts were aimed at addressing the growing problem of domestic child sex slavery in the form of child prostitution in the United States.

In the five years since its inception, the Initiative has resulted in the development of 24 dedicated task forces and working groups throughout the US involving federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies working in tandem with U.S. Attorney's Offices. To date, these groups have worked successfully to rescue over 400 children.

NCMEC acts as a clearinghouse for intelligence obtained from the public about children being exploited through prostitution. Since the inception of the Innocence Lost Initiative in June 2003, the CyberTipline has received 5,127 tips of child exploitation through prostitution. The number of CyberTipline reports of known missing children involved in prostitution is 944. During that same time period, NCMEC has intaked 41,978 endangered runaway cases. Case data shows that many of these children can be at great risk of being lured or forced into child prostitution.

NCMEC has trained over 950 law enforcement members on child victims of prostitution through specialized training courses, developed and conducted in partnership with the FBI. The program has trained multi-disciplinary teams, with membership drawn from state, local, and federal law-enforcement agencies and local social-service providers from cities all over the country. These teams have been trained in a multi-disciplinary approach to address the problem of child prostitution, of which prosecution and victim assistance share equal parts.

Resources

Success Stories

Preventing Child Sexual Exploitation - (English)

Preventing Child Sexual Exploitation - (Spanish)

Additional Information: Prostitution of Children

Download Campaign Posters:

If the above links dont work please click on the link below:

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/CampaignServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=3721

Visibility: Everyone
Tags: , ,
Posted: Jul 28, 2008 7:44am
Jun 6, 2008

Unsuspecting pro-life cultures are regularly assaulted by the “logic” of the international abortion promoters who push their anti-life agenda into every culture that will cave in to the pressure. Their main argument goes roughly like this: “When abortion is not legal, women have abortions anyway but in unsafe conditions and back-alley clinics with untrained people who injure and kill them. All this death and injury is totally unnecessary and we could just solve the problem overnight by legalizing abortion to make it safe and keep all these poor women from dying.”

That’s the main argument which, in one form or another, is repeated ad nauseam by the abortion lobby to sympathetic healthcare providers, social workers, government leaders and the media. It can be an effective argument for legalized abortion because people are generally more willing to sacrifice the rights of the unseen child for the immediate perceived needs of the suffering woman. However, that argument is a ruse. Abortion doesn’t work the way they say it does. In reality, legalized abortion, besides killing babies, creates a climate of disrespect for women’s health that leads to a greater number of maternal deaths. Let’s take another look at the most fascinating and heroic case study in the abortion wars that our modern age has seen: Nicaragua.

That marvelous little pro-life country in Central America is a good example of what happens when a country chooses a culture of life. Remember that Nicaragua made abortion completely illegal in 2006 and then reaffirmed that prohibition in 2007. The overall positive results for Nicaraguan women have been just amazing. The abortion promoters screamed that making abortion illegal would cause women to die in droves because of more back-alley abortions, but that didn’t happen. In fact, the opposite is true—fewer women are dying now! A recent publication by Nicaragua’s Ministry of Health noted that the overall maternal mortality rate decreased by 58% in the year that abortion has been made totally illegal. There were 21 maternal deaths for 2007 compared to 50 maternal deaths the year before. This is a stunning reversal!

The lie that women will die from back-alley, “unsafe,” abortions is nothing but a scare tactic to coerce pro-life cultures into compliance with abortion. The truth is that abortion-free cultures have a greater respect for women and babies and are not subject to that degrading pall of killing that lies over the medical profession. In the case of Nicaragua, their rejection of abortion in 2006/2007 coincided—not surprisingly—with a greater provision of basic pre-natal services for pregnant women and accompaniment in childbirth which is what led to the surprising turn-around in the maternal death rate. Even aside from legal protection of babies, pro-life cultures just protect women better, it’s that simple.

We don’t have to listen to the liars who tell us that legalized abortion is “safe.” Women are much safer in countries where abortion is not legal. Abortion enthusiasts were never able to use the maternal death argument in abortion-free Ireland which has the lowest rate of maternal deaths in the world. They are also confounded by pro-life cultures like Poland that restricted abortion in 1993 and has seen a phenomenal increase in maternal wellbeing ever since.

The abortion promoters tell us that certain abortions are unsafe. They’re half right. Actually, all abortions are unsafe. The numbers don’t lie.

 

Sincerely Yours in Christ,


Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International

http://www.hli.org/sl_2008-06-06.html

Copyright 2008 - Human Life International
Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required.

Visibility: Everyone
Tags: ,
Posted: Jun 6, 2008 6:58am
Jun 4, 2008

Parents Agree: Abstinence education is the best health message for teens. A nationwide Zogby poll conducted in 2007 showed that parents prefer abstinence education 2 to 1 over comprehensive sex education. Among other findings from the poll:

  • 9 out of 10 parents agree that being sexually abstinent is best for their child’s health and future.
  • 8 in 10 parents support public schools promoting abstinence vs. encouraging contraceptive use.
  • 2 out of 3 parents think the importance of the “wait to have sex” message ends up being lost when programs demonstrate and encourage the use of contraception.

Abstinence education works! Abstinence education has received WIDESPREAD federal funding for ONLY ABOUT 10 YEARS, YET, in that short time, numerous peer-reviewed studies have revealed that abstinence programs are effective in:

  • Delaying the onset of sexual behavior
  • Reversing risky behavior in teens who were previously sexually active
  • Reducing teen pregnancy rates
  • Decreasing the number of partners in sexually active teens

Current federal funding for abstinence education is nearly $170 million, but the results are a cost-savings to taxpayers! When teen birth rates are reduced, taxpayers save $6 for every $1 spent.


Defining Abstinence Education

Abstinence education empowers teens to avoid risk by making good health decisions, regardless of their sexual history. Abstinence means to voluntarily refrain from sexual activity including, but not limited to, sexual intercourse. Abstinence education, as funded by Congress, is decidedly more inclusive than “just say no”. The term, “abstinence only” is often used by opponents to create the false perception that abstinence education is a narrow and unrealistic approach. Abstinence education is in fact broader and more holistic than other approaches and focuses on the real-life struggles that teens face as they navigate through the difficult adolescent years.


Abstinence education realizes that “having sex” can potentially affect a lot more than the sex organs of teens, but as research shows, can also have emotional, psychological, social, economic and educational consequences. That’s why topics frequently discussed in an abstinence education class include:

  • Identifying healthy relationships
  • Avoiding or getting out of dangerous, unhealthy, or abusive relationships
  • Developing skills to make good decisions
  • Setting goals for the future and taking realistic steps to reach them
  • Understanding and avoiding STDs
  • Information about contraceptives and their effectiveness against pregnancy and STDs
  • Practical ways to avoid inappropriate sexual advances
  • Why abstinence until marriage is optimal

So, within an abstinence education program, teens receive all the information they need in order to make healthy choices. That’s a lot of information and skills packed into an abstinence curriculum! And all of these topics are taught within the context of why abstinence is the best choice. There’s nothing “only” about the abstinence approach!

What is Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE)?

There are vast differences between abstinence education and CSE. The major distinction is how each approach regards teens. Abstinence education believes teens can and increasingly do, avoid sex, so the discussion empowers them to make the healthiest sexual decision – which is to abstain. By contrast, CSE assumes that teens don’t have the ability to avoid sexual experimentation, so most of their time is spent talking about sex and the use of condoms and other forms of contraception. Comprehensive Sex Education assumes that teens will engage in high risk sexual behavior and are content to merely reduce the risk of that behavior.


A review of CSE curricula show that, on average, only about 5% of their time is devoted to the abstinence message, with the definition of abstinence usually subjectively defined by the student. One popular "abstinence plus" text promoted by comprehensive sex ed providers, asks students to brainstorm "what sexual behaviors a person could engage in and still be 'abstinent'" and suggested activities such as "cuddling with no clothes on", "masturbating with a partner", "rubbing bodies together".


Students are sent nondirective and confusing definitions for abstinence that are filled with risk and predictably, the discussion quickly moves to “the endless possibilities of outercourse” and “making the transition from sexual abstinence.” Alarmingly, CSE curricula present abstinence and condom use as equally “safe” options, promoting dangerous and medically inaccurate information to teens. A 2007 report by the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services (HH found that many highly recommended “comprehensive” curricula devote little time to teaching the merits of abstaining from sex but spend an overwhelming amount of teaching time topics such as condom demonstration and sexual game play as methods of "safe" sex. The study revealed startling components of the "comprehensive" curricula that taught teens as young as 13 lessons that include:

  • Advocating showering together as a no-risk activity
  • Promoting methods for sexual stimulation
  • Conducting role-plays on how to help a partner maintain an erection
  • Describing how to eroticize condom use with a partner
  • Suggesting teens wear "shades" or disguises when shopping for condoms so parents and adults won't recognize them
Abstinence Under Attack

Organized efforts are underway in every state to replace abstinence education with comprehensive sex education. Parents are being misled by about the true content of comprehensive sex education programs being taught in their children’s classrooms. Expose the truth, your child’s health and future is at stake.


http://www.parentsfortruth.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45&Itemid=29


http://www.parentsfortruth.org/
Visibility: Everyone
Tags:
Posted: Jun 4, 2008 5:50pm
Jun 4, 2008

LifeNews.com Note: Roeten is a very conservative Catholic who likes the facts over readily displayed emotions. He is an editorial columnist who has frequently been published in numerous Internet and newspaper forums.

It’s been discovered. Nobody thought having “safe sex” was possible in every case. Each year 2.6 million teenagers become sexually active—a rate of 7000/day. With high school, nearly half report having engaged in sexual activity and 1/3 are currently active (Kim/Rector//Heritage Foundation).

As it turns out, teen sexual activity is extremely costly for teens and for society as a whole. From 1985-1990 alone, the federal government spent $120 billion on teenage childbearing. Teens who engage in sexual activity risk all kinds of costly and detrimental outcomes not limited to STD infections, emotional and psychological harm, lower educational attainment, and unmarried childbearing. All of these have direct impact on Medicare, Medicaid, government spending----and the budget.

It is known that STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) infect -- about 12 million Americans per year, with 65,000 plagued with an incurable form (CDC). STDs are a direct cause of infertility in both men and women .

Nearly half of all pregnancies as well as 1 million teen pregnancies (95%) are unintended (CDC), and there are approximately 40,000 new HIV infections per year. An estimated 1.3 million babies die every year through abortion, and 84% of all US abortions are performed on unmarried women (US Dept of Commerce; GPO/1998). Teens who have babies out of wedlock are more likely to end up at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. All of these numbers have huge economic implications for the country.

But society has found something that works 100% of the time. They found something on which you can completely depend---much better than condoms which may work part of the time. And that’s if you use them right.

The answer is easy, even though many don’t want to hear it--- “abstinence until marriage”. It breaks the unwritten rule of sex on demand. It clearly illuminates the slavery to our desires so many of us face. And it emblazons the oft repeated saying, “Why buy the cow, if the milk is free?”

Self-control is like an immune system. People who abhor sexual-control think they are breaking free, but in reality are breaking down. Control yourself and you will not be repressed—you will be free.

Our children are not animals incapable of controlling themselves and “will do it anyway”. Yet “comprehensive” sex-ed teaches them that they're just that.

But recently, a new study by the research firm Mathematica found that in the five programs that they studied, abstinence-instructed kids showed no statistical change in sexual behavior.

But what was actually learned was this study looked at only five programs out of more than 900 in place. It was also determined this program targeted children 9 to 11 who were not evaluated until four years later. Abstinence Education: Assessing the Evidence (Kim/ Rector) found 16 of the 21 studies completed so far reported positive results, while 5 studies did not report any significant positive results.

Zogby (5/8/07) found that 83% of parents think it is important for their child to wait until marriage to have sex. The Journal of Adolescent and Family Health concluded that a 66% decrease in teen pregnancy was due to teens choosing abstinence. The CDC showed a 53% decrease. But abstinence programs federally funded over the last 11 years still have many critics.

But several dozen Congressional abortion advocates have signed a letter to the House Appropriations Committee asking to cut all funds for abstinence education (Ertelt/LifeNews). According to the CDC, there has been a 13% decrease in the % of teens who have ever had sex between 1991 and 2005. Some 17 states have rejected this funding.

It’s interesting to note that our government has spent $12 on the comprehensive sex-ed/Planned Parenthood approach for every $1 spent on true abstinence projects. PP would love to zero-fund its competitors, especially since abstinent kids don’t spend any time in their clinics.

As parents, our offspring are worth everything. We want to keep them from developing STDs, AIDS, HIV, going through abortions, lower educational development, slavery, you name it. We have “abstinence until marriage” which guarantees freedom from the above. And we know simple abstinence education gives significantly better chances from those pitfalls.

Now what would make a parent shy away from 100% chance of surviving an experience with some of the worst occurrences that exist.
http://www.lifenews.com/nat3919.html

Visibility: Everyone
Tags:
Posted: Jun 4, 2008 5:36pm
May 24, 2008
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain: Why the early bird gets the worm, Life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault.
Common sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you earn) and reliable strategies, (ADULTS not children are in charge!)

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate. Teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch. A teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when PARENTS attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Tylenol, sun lotion or a band aid to a student, but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as The Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims did.

Common sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common sense was preceded in death by his parent, Truth and Trust, his wife Discretion, his daughter Responsibility and his son Reason.

He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers, I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone
Visibility: Everyone
Tags:
Posted: May 24, 2008 8:59am
May 14, 2008
My family was directly affected by abortion.  My parents struggled with the choices they made twenty years prior.  I was always aware of a tension between my parents when I was younger.  I could not understand or explain it.  I often remember my mom yelling at my dad for stupid reasons, and these shouting matches escalated over the years. My mom did not seem to have much respect or love for my dad.  I wondered as a child, what had he done that was so bad that he deserved such verbal abuse?  My siblings and I were constantly on edge. We never knew what mood our folks might be in that particular day and we wondered how much longer our parents could stand each other.  I remember a day when my sister and I were deciding who we would like to live with when our parents got divorced.  I hated thinking about that and feeling really scared.

I later learned it was not what my father had done, but what they had done together.  Three abortions had taken their toll on my parents and our family.  Anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, relentless guilt, and shame had damaged their relationship.  There was no peace or joy; only an atmosphere marred with pain and hopelessness.  It was unbearable.

Added to that was the realization that I have four dead siblings that I will never know this side of Heaven.  (One sibling died by miscarriage because of the other three abortions.)  My own feelings towards my parents’ generation for the significant loss of my generation ran high for a long time and had to be sorted out.  I am glad that I am finally over that hurdle.

If my mom and dad had not received healing from all the emotional scars they endured, I am positive that I would be another statistic in the headlines.  We would be a broken home instead of one filled with love, laughter, joy and peace.  Because my parents became whole, our household became whole.

This transformation can be achieved only when truth is told and healing is accomplished.  The sooner help is found, the easier it will be to unwrap the layers and begin a life of complete freedom.
http://www.humanlife.org/didyouknow_amadi.php

© 2007 Human Life Alliance, 2855 Anthony Lane South, Suite B7, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55418
Phone: (651) 484-1040, e-mail: feedback@humanlife.org
Pictures © 2006 Jupiterimages Corporation

Amadi's Parents - Brian and Denise Walker

Brian’s Story:

I was a stone cold Black nationalist and was proud to be called a “brother.” I did my share of sit-in’s, protest marches, forums and conspiracies. I would gladly have taken a bullet for my woman and for my race. When the time came to bring my contribution to nation building to life, “brother-man” ran with his tail between his legs, succumbing to fear and selfishness.

I am a former co-conspirator to murder. I was so fearful and self-centered that I put my own flesh and blood to the knife on an abortionist’s table in New York City.

There are consequences when we abandon our God-designed role as provider and protector of our families. Whether you drove your wife/fiancée/girlfriend to the “clinic” as I did years ago—or were an agreeable, non-present partner—something inside you died when your child died.

As for me, my manhood and self-respect died. The natural, God-given drive, leadership and protection instilled in a man for his family died. I lost a son who would have been twenty-eight this year. He would have been an older brother for my son and two daughters who are alive today. It did not stop there. Miscarriage, a common side effect of abortion, banged down my door and took my youngest daughter shortly after.

I lost the trust, respect and deep companionship of my wife —we behaved more like roommates than spouses. For years she loathed the sight of me because I didn’t have the courage to say, “let’s get married, have this child, and have a life.” Instead, I was derelict of all my manly duties and chose what I thought was the easy way out.

I remember my shame. I was unwilling to tackle the responsibility of raising a child and supporting a family. I wanted to continue “shacking up” and not pay any penalties. It was easy for me to buy into the lie “the unborn is not a child”—even though I knew in my heart I was wrong. My heart was stone.

“How can a wife trust a husband who will end his son’s life? What would people think of me if they knew?” Questions like these weighed heavily on my mind. Like most men, I “got on” with life. I buried myself in causes, ministries, vocations, newspapers and recreation. All the while, self-hatred anchored me to my albatross—mediocrity. This further pounded nails into my wife’s heart—and my own.

Maybe you’re the father whose child was aborted without your knowledge or consent. Maybe you pleaded with the mother to keep the child or choose adoption, only to be told you had no right or say in the matter. You are the real brothers because you fought for your family! You survived the legally imposed impotence that bludgeoned your fatherhood, leaving millions of our brothers grief stricken—with rage searing through your heart like a hot branding iron. The day your child died, you died too.

Want a snapshot of America? The 1973 Roe v. Wade decision devastated the family and destroyed whole populations.  And it is morphing into something worse.

Remember Terry Schiavo?  “Euthanasia” is a euphemism for adult abortion, and it is reaching for everyone regardless of age or capacity.  All of this is an example of how our culture is in desperate straights because we have cheapened life and deemed people disposable - all for the sake of convenience.

African American men: Listen to me! The leading cause of death for Blacks in the United States is not Aids, violence, accidents, cancer or heart disease – it’s abortion. Abortion kills four times more Blacks than all of these other causes combined!  Over a third of our race (35%) is gone  - I and maybe even you have contributed to the genocide of our own people!

This February, as Black history month approaches, let us reflect on the millions of potential Black scientists, social workers, pastors, engineers, teachers, business men and women, or leaders who tasted and felt the burning saline solution and the abortionist hardware before they saw the light of day. How many times have the researchers who would have found the cure for breast cancer that is killing our women by the millions, or diabetes, been dismembered in our women’s wombs without us as men lifting a finger to save our own flesh and blood?  Brothers, this is to our shame.

Millions of men, regardless of race or social standing, have become molesters instead of protectors; abandoning instead of providing; and seeking convenience instead of responsibility. Their hearts are cold and callused as mine was, and they are acting out in unsavory behaviors.  Or, on the opposite spectrum, there are the millions of fathers whose fatherhood was taken and whose hearts are bleeding in the form of alcoholism, drug and sexual addiction, or unable to trust or bond with a woman or children or other men.  These men seem outwardly “ok.” But inwardly they are descending in a lonely, dark pit that only others similarly situated can fully understand.

That is why I am passionate about supporting abortion recovery ministries and strongly urge men to participate in one if you, your wife or girlfriend have been involved with abortion. My wife and I were able to go through abortion recovery, and our marriage and family were restored. Individually, we have reconciled with God and our children and have experienced a peace that permeates our hearts. Together we founded Everlasting Light Ministries where we are reaching those devastated by abortion, one soul at a time.

As black men, let us take responsibility and have the courage to say—what I did not say many years ago—“Honey, let’s do the right thing, believe God, and bring this child into the world as husband and wife.”

Rev. Brian & Rev. Denise Walker founded Everlasting Light Ministries, which is dedicated to exposing the lies about abortion and revealing the truth about its genocidal effects, and re-establishing the culture of marriage in the African American community.  They co-authored and conduct Rich in Mercy, an abortion and miscarriage recovery program, and Everlasting Love, a marriage enrichment and restoration course.  The Walkers are seasoned communicators, appearing as guests and co-hosts on radio; keynote speakers at statewide and local conferences and pro-life events; and seminar presenters.

To contact the Walkers, call 763-560-8383 or visit www.everlastinglightministries.org
http://www.humanlife.org/didyouknow_brian.php


Denise’s Story:

I should have been playing with dolls. Instead I was playing with the notion of having sex—fully armed with free birth control from our neighborhood Planned Parenthood and eager to lose my virginity—all by the age of 12.

Then came April 4, 1968 – the day Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was shot and killed. I remember that day as if it were yesterday. It was a day of great sadness for all of us in the Black community. It was also, tragically and ironically, the day that the death certificate for my first child was signed in my heart.

My mother was hot-combing my hair and the news bulletin about King blasted through the air. Our spokesman for civil rights was dead. It was the only time I had ever seen my mother cry. But she marshaled the strength to try to inspire me in the midst of her grief. She said, “Denise, you go on; you go to college and make a way for other blacks; don’t be like your sisters; make something of your life.”

But what I heard was something my mother never meant or intended. What I heard was the devil’s translation: “Denise, the burden of the entire black race is on your shoulders. You have to go to college to make a way for others. Don’t be like your sisters – they were failures because they got pregnant out-of-wedlock and became poor and lived on welfare. You go on and become a very successful professional. Don’t let Dr. King’s death be in vain.”

That day I learned what it meant to be a failure and I vowed to live up to what “I heard.” Unbridled ambition coupled with the 60’s sexual revolution and lust sealed it – I would never be like my sisters. I wanted to have the fun they had without the consequences. I would be a success.  I would never be unmarried and pregnant, or poor. Not ever.

Tragically for me and much of my generation unregulated by Jim Crow, the upheaval during the 1960’s for us was not really about civil rights. We lived in the north and were already living the American dream of home ownership in a nice neighborhood with great schools. We did not live in segregation.  No, it wasn’t about civil rights.  It was about something else.

Like so many, I too was taken captive by the free love movement and the Pandora’s box opened by my seventh grade sex education classes. Encouraged by media and pop culture, we were given the green light to adopt the requisite loathing of traditional values of purity and abstinence until marriage, in order to “live the life we wanted.” No, for us it was not about civil rights, it was about civil license.

College dorm life was a sexual free for all. By age 25, I had been with 49 sex partners, aborted 3 babies, (what a sanitized way of saying that I killed 3 people), contracted one STD and became part of an ill-fated marriage.

Throughout my adolescent, college and young adult years I was spiritual, but not moral. I was my own god and I worshipped me. I made up the rules. I was determined to have my career and fulfill my mandate. Nothing, no one, and no circumstance were going to stop me. And my sibling’s example of the single parent, welfare-funded lifestyle was not part of my package.  Life was about having fun without consequences. With racial and sexual roadblocks gone, abortion was my guaranteed ticket to the American dream of endless fun and prosperity: two-kids, suburban home, cruise ship vacations, camper, boat and a dog.

The initial relief I felt after the abortions was supposed to last forever. But immediately following the third abortion, a deep, unconscious rage gained fervor and began to silently roar. I coped by following my boyfriend Brian’s (later became husband) advice to “forget about it; let’s not talk about it anymore” and dismissed my pain. Inwardly I was appalled, but outwardly his advice seemed right since all that was lost were “blobs of tissue” – right?

I buried the truth that I had taken lives so deep that we didn’t talk about it for decades. I tried over and over again to get on with the American dream, but it continued to elude me. I had unknowingly joined the ranks of the millions of post-abortive walking wounded, and it put my life into a total subconscious tailspin for the next 20 years.

The first 17 years of my marriage were plagued with emotional firestorms. Where was all this rage coming from? Why couldn’t I seem to get on with life, or get my life in order? My husband is a faithful, hard-working, kind, loving and handsome man, yet I could not stand the sight of him. Four months prior to our African wedding he abdicated his role as my hero and protector by insisting on the abortion of our first child together. To make matters worse, after the birth of our first child a year later, he sent me to the welfare office. Wasn’t abortion supposed to keep me off of welfare and propel me into the American dream?

Even though I unconsciously despised him for it, and blamed him for everything that was wrong with our lives, I did not realize until many years later how tortured, fractured and bleeding both of us were because of our abortions.

My gratitude towards family members who clothed my young children masked the awful secret that I dreaded the baby section of department stores. I would experience deep feelings of fear and foreboding wrapped up neatly in grief bows whenever I would look at baby shoes and socks, and I could not figure out why.

Unfilled imaginary chairs were cruel reminders at family dinners and holidays that my children were missing – they were gone. Day after day I wandered around in a hopeless sea of silent unconscious grief – hating my husband – but hating myself more. I finally got to go to law school, but I ate my way through it and gained 100 pounds more.

Suicidal thoughts frequently rattled through my brain; not because I wanted to die, but because I just wanted to stop the pain. My friends had no clue that I was suffering, but my children were worried. Days turned into months; months into years. Inwardly and silently I would cry this pitiful cry: “oh God, help me; please help me.” Some days I refused to cry, fearing I would never stop. My life continued to plummet as I rode the emotional rollercoaster: one day happy go lucky; the next day I was in the depths of despair and depression.

These were not fleeting, momentary feelings of the blues. No, what I was going through was much deeper, very scary and more disturbing. It was that penetrating and lasting feeling that something is not quite right; that something is very wrong with me.

Somehow on my way to the American dream it did not even dawn on me that the Creator built into me the instinctual capacity to nurture and raise children, and that by killing my own I would be left with a broken heart—a bottomless pit of emptiness, shame, rage, remorse and regret. And tragically worse is the knowledge that even if someone would have warned me, I doubt that it would have made a difference, because my heart was rock solid hard and my soul was far away from God.

The good news is that God led Brian and I to support groups where compassionate men and women helped us to recognize that post-abortion trauma is a real wound that causes deep pain and suffering. They lovingly administered the aid and help we needed to be healed and made whole again. As a result, abortion/miscarriage recovery and marriage enrichment has become our life’s work. Rich in Mercy, our abortion recovery program, is a safe and confidential place. If you have had an abortion, or you are a post-abortive couple, or the father, mother, grandparent, sibling, of an aborted child, or one who helped someone get an abortion, including clinic staff, it is our joy to administer that same hope and healing that was given to us to you.

I can never bring my babies back, but I can warn others that abortion is not the solution you think or have been told it is. Abortion will destroy whoever you are inside, and your baby. Like a cancer, it will grow and attach itself to others in emotional and spiritual places you would never dream possible. This cancer has reduced the African American population by 39.6%—3 times more than our representative percentage in the total population of the United States.

Do yourself a favor and take this warning seriously. Or pass it along to someone you know who is contemplating abortion. It can save their life and the precious life of their child.

If you have had an abortion (even if you feel like you do not need it) give yourself a great gift and get into a support group. It has been our experience that the clients who initially felt that they did not need it (like we did) are very glad they came.


Rev. Brian & Rev. Denise Walker founded Everlasting Light Ministries, which is dedicated to exposing the lies about abortion and revealing the truth about its genocidal effects, and re-establishing the culture of marriage in the African American community. They co-authored and conduct Rich in Mercy, an abortion and miscarriage recovery program, and Everlasting Love, a marriage enrichment and restoration course. The Walkers are seasoned communicators appearing as guests and co-hosts on radio; keynote speakers at statewide and local conferences and pro-life events; and seminar presenters.

To contact the Walkers, call 763-560-8383 or visit www.everlastinglightministries.org


http://www.humanlife.org/didyouknow_denise.php

Did You Know?

Get the best African American pro-life information for your church, campus or organization!

Abortion is the leading cause of death among African Americans. Did You Know? is shattering the silence of this great tragedy. Written by African Americans for the African American community, Did You Know? contains powerful articles written by leaders such as Dr. Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King Jr., Star Parker, founder and president of CURE, and many others.  12 pages.

Powerful Pro-Life Literature

Main articles include:

  • The True Meaning of The Dream by Dr. Alveda King
  • Reproductive Racism by Akua Furlow
  • Our Heritage is on the Verge of Extinction by Dr. Johnny Hunter
  • Reflections of an Ex-Abortionist by Dr. Noreen Johnson
  • The Aftermath of Abortion by Star Parker
  • The Real Story: How Abortion Affects Families by Brian and Denise Walker
  • Watchman to Watchmen: An Appeal to Pastors by Rev. Arnold Culbreath
  • Love on a Two-Way Street by Lorey Kelley
  • We Shall Overcome… Abortion by Day Gardner

Download Now

Did You Know? is also available for viewing on the web and in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. To view the images on the web use the viewer above. If you wish to download, print or email the publication as a PDF you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader that is available here. To download, print, or email the entire publication (slower) click here.

http://www.humanlife.org/did_you_know.php

Visibility: Everyone
Tags: , ,
Posted: May 14, 2008 9:48am
Apr 1, 2008
Focus: Immigration
Action Request: Write E-Mail
Location: United States
FRIENDS, YOU CAN HELP CREATE A BETTER CONGRESS FOR NEXT YEAR . . .

We need each of you to pressure both incumbents and challengers in your congressional district and your state to take our immigration survey.
www.betterimmigration.com/candidates/2008/candidatesurvey2008.html

About the only way we get a better Congress is if the people running for election feel it is in their best interest to promise the immigration actions that all of us want.

NumbersUSA has just put on-line 479 new web pages of congressional and gubernatorial Primary Election races. Each of these pages is a grid to display the results of immigration surveys we have sent to candidates for:
  • 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives
  • 33 U.S. Senate seats
  • 11 state Governors
You can see all races (there aren't many yet) in which at least one candidate has taken our survey and indicated that they want to be seen as a True Immigration Reform Candidate. Click here for this short opening list of races with a True Immigration Reform Candidate.
www.betterimmigration.com/candidates/2008/featuredraces.html

To send a survey with a request to a candidate to fill it out:
(1) go to this page www.betterimmigration.com/candidates/2008/2008candidates.html
(2) click on your state's two-letter identifier,
(3) and then click on the race in which you are interested. You'll see an icon at the top of the page for emailing a survey to a candidate.

You can find an email address for the candidates by clicking on their names on the RACE pages and finding how to contact them on their own campaign websites.

Don't hesitate to pick up a phone and call them, too.

If you favor any of the candidates to represent you in the U.S. Senate or House, you will want to help them present themselves as True Immigration Reformers.

During the last two election cycles, these ABI candidate pages (a project of NumbersUSA) were the most-viewed and used parts of the internet for people wanting to know candidates' immigration positions.

We will be constantly updating these 479 pages as new information pours in.

For candidates to be your state's governor, here is the survey for governors: www.betterimmigration.com/candidates/2008/candidatesurveygov2008.html

We are completely non-partisan. We have no desire to promote one Party over the other. Every candidate has an equal opportunity to be displayed as a True Immigration Reformer.

We do NOT endorse candidates. We know people support and vote for candidates on the basis of a lot of different issues, the character and experience of the candidates and other factors. But we want all voters to know as much as possible about a candidate's immigration positions so as to weight that with the final vote.

Thanks so much for all the pressure you can put on candidates to fill out the survey well.

THANKS,
 
Visibility: Everyone
Tags:
Posted: Apr 1, 2008 12:14pm

 

 Next >
 
Content and comments expressed here are the opinions of Care2 users and not necessarily that of Care2.com or its affiliates.

Author

Ruth L.
female , married, 3 children
Guymon, OK, USA
Shares by Type:
All (245) | Blog (161) | Alert (75) | Message (9)
SHARES FROM RUTH'S NETWORK
Aug
28
(4 comments  |  discussions )
 I turned off Religion early in my life & developed finally to a FANATIC Atheist & VERY Anti Christ & the Bible.i would pick on Christians to Attack them & try to Disprove their faith & convince them of the Non Existance of...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Polling Right-Of-Center Bloggers On McCain's VP Pick Right Wing News emailed more than 240 right-of-center bloggers and asked them to answer 3 questions. The following 67 blogs responded, Absinthe & Cookies, The Absurd Report, The Anchoress, At...
May
19
(0 comments  |  discussions )
The Bible at your fingertips... Click on any chapter You can now read the Bible at the click of a button.....Just click on the " New International Version"  New International Version (NIV)  See special bonus belowEmergency Numb...
May
16
(1 comments  |  discussions )
The Bible at your fingertips... Click on any chapter I have never seen anything like this. It must have have taken  a long time to mastermind something like it This is worthy of sending to everyone on your e-list. The bottom one...
Sep
8
(1 comments  |  discussions )
Hopefully you all take this in the right way, and hopefully will take a few minutes to be helpful to a worthy cause.  I try not to bug people with junk.This is a call for signatures to a petition to help stop the LIVE skinning of cats & dogs...
Sep
1
(6 comments  |  discussions )
Why They Hate Sarah Palin   Michelle Malkin has already named it. PDS: Palin Derangement Syndrome. It's the irrational hatred of Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, indulged until the intellect is shattered and only...
Aug
25
(1 comments  |  discussions )
Why Should Atheists Be Pro-Life? By Judy FerrisI am often asked this question. I usually answer, "Why shouldn't atheists be pro-life?" Nobody questions why non-religious persons fight drug abuse, drunk-driving, rape, poverty, crime, etc. Why shoul...
Aug
24
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Reflections on Catholic Politicians and Abortion As a national association whose mission is to strengthen the clergy in their preaching and teaching about abortion, we feel obliged in this election season, in which abortion continues to be a hotly d...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
A Libertarian Atheist Answers 'Pro-Choice Catholics' by Doris GordonMany who say they are personally opposed to abortion nonetheless support keeping abortion legal. Such a stance is often taken in the Catholic community, particularly by Catholics i...
(0 comments  |  0 discussions )
Can you be Catholic and pro choice? By Father William Saunders Sometimes I meet Catholics who say, "I am personally against abortion, but I am pro-choice." To me, that makes no sense, but how can I argue with them? -- A reader in Springfield...

Copyright © 2009 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved