Where Can I Learn Good Parenting Skills?

             Parents can strengthen their families, communities, and nations by learning new parenting skills. This applies to parents with children of all ages – from newborn to adults with families of their own. When we learn how to parent children with respect and love, we learn skills that can improve all relationships.

            There are many parenting books on the market. Some of them were written by trained professionals, while others are written by people who are passionate about their way of parenting. I have studied numerous books in various parenting classes, some of which are as follows. I like some of the ideas and suggestions better than others. It is important that parents adapt the ideas and suggestions to their own family situation because each child is a different person with their own needs and desires.

Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child – The Heart of Parenting by John Gottman. Gottman is a professor of psychology at the University of Washington and a recognized expert in parenting. He wrote the book for “parents of children of all ages” and claims that his ideas “will enrich the bonds between parent and child and contribute immeasurably to the development of a generation of emotionally healthy adults.” The description of his book is as follows:

Intelligence that comes from the heart: Every parent knows the importance of equipping children with the intellectual skills they need to succeed in school and life. But children also need to master their emotions. Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child is a guide to teaching children to understand and regulate their emotional world. And as acclaimed psychologist and researcher John Gottman shows, once they master this important life skill, emotionally intelligent children will enjoy increased self-confidence, greater physical health, better performance in school, and healthier social relationships. Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child will equip parents with a five-step “emotion coaching” process that teaches how to: [1] Be aware of a child’s emotions. [2] Recognize emotional expression as an opportunity for intimacy and teaching. [3] Listen empathetically and validate a child’s feelings. [4] Label emotions in words a child can understand.

[5] Help a child come up with an appropriate way to solve a problem or deal with an upsetting issue or situation.

            No-Drama Discipline – The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson. Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and author of numerous books. Bryson is a pediatric and adolescent psychotherapist, international speaker, and the co-author with Siegel of this book and The Whole-Brain Child.

The pioneering experts behind the bestselling The Whole-Brain Child now explore the ultimate child-raising challenge: discipline. Highlighting the fascinating link between a child’s neurological development and the way a parent reacts to misbehavior, No-Drama Discipline provides an effective, compassionate road map for dealing with tantrums, tensions, and tears – without causing a scene. Inside this sanity-saving guide you’ll discover: [1] strategies that help you identify your own discipline philosophy – and master the best methods to communicate the lessons you are trying to impart; [2] facts on child brain development – and what kind of discipline is most appropriate and constructive at all ages and stages; [3] the way to calmly and lovingly connect with a child – no matter how extreme the behavior – while still setting clear and consistent limits; [4] tips for navigating your child through a tantrum to achieve insight, empathy, and repair; [5] twenty discipline mistakes even great parents make – and how to stay focused on the principles of whole-brain parenting and discipline techniques.

            Raising a Secure Child – How Circle of Security Parenting can help you nurture your child’s attachment, emotional resilience, and freedom to explore by Kent Hoffman, Glen Cooper, and Bert Powell. The authors are all psychotherapists and share a clinical practice. They devote their time and energy to “translating complex developmental research and clinical insight into straightforward and accessible guidance for individuals and families.” The description for this book is as follows.

Today’s parents are constantly pressured to be perfect. But in striving to do everything right, we risk missing what children really need for lifelong emotional security. Now the simple, powerful “Circle of Security” parenting strategies that Kent Hoffman, Glen Cooper, and Bert Powell have taught thousands of families are available in self-help form for the first time. You will learn: [1] How to balance being nurturing and protective with promoting your child’s independence; [2] What emotional needs a toddler or older child may be expressing through difficult behavior; [3] How our own upbringing affects your parenting style – and what you can do about it. Filled with vivid stories and unique practical tools, this book puts the keys to healthy attachment within everyone’s reach – self-understanding, flexibility, and the willingness to make and learn from mistakes. Self-assessment checklists can be downloaded and printed for ease of use.

            It is never too late for parents and grandparents to learn new parenting skills. The above- described books contain some ways for parents to improve their parenting. With families falling apart all over the world, there is much need for improved parenting skills that can strengthen marriages, families, communities, and nations.

What Must We Do to Save the Babies?

             The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns this simple fact: every life has value from conception to natural death and should be protected. With modern technology, there is no longer any doubt that there are human babies in the wombs of American mothers and not just “clumps of cells” as was claimed for many years. Most Americans no longer consider abortion to be the only answer to an unplanned pregnancy.

            Mary Margaret Olohan at The Daily Signal reported that “Republican governors are signing pro-life laws all across [the] country.” She stated that the governors are “ramping up pro-life legislation” to counteract President Joe Biden’s expansion of access to abortion. Pro-life laws in Arizona, Oklahoma, Montana, and Idaho were the latest ones to be signed. 

            In Arizona, Republican Governor Doug Ducey signed SB 1457 into law on Tuesday. This legislation bans “abortions based on a diagnosis of genetic abnormality like Down syndrome. Ducey tweeted the following statement.

Every life holds immeasurable value – regardless of genetic makeup…. Today I signed legislation to prioritize life in our preborn children and protect those with genetic abnormalities. Arizona remains among the top pro-life states in the nation, and my sincere thanks goes to Senator Nancy Barto for her leadership and work on this life-saving issue and to those who supported this bill.

            Also on Tuesday, Republican Idaho Governor Brad Little signed legislation into law. This legislation bans “abortions after an unborn baby’s heart can be detected.” A fetal heartbeat can be heard as early as 5.5 weeks, and an unborn baby can feel pain as early as 12 weeks.

            On Monday, pro-life bills were signed into law in both Oklahoma and Montana by two Republicans governors. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and Montana Governor Greg Gianforte “each signed three different pro-life bills into law.”

            The Oklahoma laws “ban abortion after a baby’s heartbeat can be detected, classify a doctor performing an abortion as ‘unprofessional conduct,’ and require that doctors who perform abortions must be certified in gynecology and obstetrics.” The Montana laws prohibit “abortions of unborn babies capable of feeling pain, requiring ultrasounds before abortions, and adding requirements for providing abortion drugs to mothers. Gianforte made the following statement.

There were many who served in this building before us who championed the unborn, people who worked hard to advance the cause for life. Unfortunately, their efforts were vetoed. Not today.

            As the Biden administration expands “access to abortion through the country,” states are passing pro-life legislation to counteract the executive orders. Within days of his inauguration, Biden revoked the Mexico City policy that prevented federal tax dollars from paying for abortions in other countries. He “vowed to make Roe v. Wade the law of the land.” In addition, Biden took “steps to undo President Donald Trump’s Protect Life Rule, which prohibited Title X Family Planning Program funds form going to organizations that perform or promote abortions. He also “reversed Trump’s ban on using abortion fetal tissue for taxpayer-funded research.”

            In early April, the Biden administration announced that it is making abortions easier to obtain. It lifted “the Food and Drug Administration’s former restrictions on abortion drugs, allowing the abortion pills to be delivered by mail during the coronavirus pandemic.”

            Abortion is a scourge on our nation, and America will pay a terrible price for killing millions of innocent babies. The price we paid for slavery was the Civil War with its 800,000 dead. I believe that the price for abortion will be much greater. I am relieved to see that States are taking action to protect the unborn babies.

Why Is CARES Act Funding Going to Planned Parenthood Affiliates?

             President Joe Biden gave his first speech to a joint session of Congress. There were only certain lawmakers who were invited to the event, an apparent move to social distance. History was made tonight in that there were two women sitting behind the President as he spoke. Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi were there to support the President. I did not either of them tear up their copy of the speech, so I assume that they like what the President said.

            I also assume that they agree with the presidential orders concerning abortions. Former President Donald Trump cut much of the federal funding from the abortion industry, but Biden replaced it. Now, Republican lawmakers are attempting to stop abortion providers from receiving funds from the coronavirus bills.

            Representative Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) sponsored the Abortion Providers Loan Elimination Act and provided a draft of the proposal to The Daily Caller News Foundation. The proposed bill would “prohibit abortion providers from receiving a covered loan under the paycheck protection program.”

            According to Mary Margaret Olohan, Republicans accused Planned Parenthood affiliates of illegally accepting millions in coronavirus aid. This bill is meant to stop abortion providers from receiving funds under this program. Murphy made the following statement to The Daily Caller News Foundation. 

Abortion providers have absolutely no business receiving [Paycheck Protection Program] loans…. It is a scandal that Planned Parenthood received loans through [the Paycheck Protection Program] in the first place.

The money they received could have gone toward saving your favorite local restaurant or mom and pop shop, but instead Planned Parenthood took this money and used it to kill the unborn…. I’m proud to join Senator [Roger] Marshall in a bicameral effort to right this wrong and explicitly outlaw Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from receiving these loans ever again.

            Senator Marshall (R-Kansas) will introduce the bill in the Senate. He told The Daily Caller News Foundation that he was “outraged” when he heard that “Planned Parenthood affiliates gamed the system and illegally obtained $80 million through the program.”

It’s clear to me that Americans don’t want their hard-earned tax dollars to fund abortions, and to Planned Parenthood’s dismay, our bill claws back the money and investigates into how it ever was allowed to happen…. As a physician who delivered thousands of babies in rural Kansas and now a U.S. senator, I consider my efforts to protect the sanctity of life my most important work, and I’m pleased my colleagues joined me in this fight.

            It seems that the Small Business Administration is involved in this transfer of funds, but officials there have “repeatedly declined to comment on the Republicans’ claims.” However, Planned Parenthood’s Action Fund has made a couple of statements according to Olohan.

Planned Parenthood’s Action Fund previously issued a statement in March 2020 acknowledging that the CARES Act legislation gave the Small Business Administration the power to exclude Planned Parenthood affiliates from receiving loans. Despite this statement, Planned Parenthood confirmed in May 2020 that “some independent Planned Parenthood 501(c)(3) organizations applied for and were awarded loans under the eligibility rules established by the CARES Act and the Small Business Administration (SBA), which they met.

            When Republican members of Congress learned of the loans to Planned Parenthood affiliates, they called for an investigation by Jovita Carranza, the administrator of Small Business Administration. The probe was to determine “how 37 Planned Parenthood affiliates received $80 million in loans.” Olohan said that the SBA repeatedly refuses to discuss the situation with The Daily Caller News Foundation and gives the following reason: it does not “comment on individual borrowers.”

            In January, Republican lawmakers again called for an investigation. They pointed to the statements made by Planned Parenthood’s Action Fund and wrote the following in a letter to the SBA: “Their attempts to apply for [Paycheck Protection Program] loans are naked attempts to defraud the United States government.”

            Fraud is a serious charge, and I hope that the lawmakers are ready to stand behind it. The loopholes must be closed, and the loans returned. However, I am not going to hold my breath until it happens!

Is John Kerry a Traitor?

            John Kerry, former Secretary of State in the Obama administration, is again being accused of betraying the United States and/or its allies. The first situation – but the one most recently revealed – happened during the Obama administration. The second situation took place during the Trump administration.

            The first time that Kerry came under scrutiny was during the Trump administration when he was accused of holding private meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Some Republicans said that Kerry was “undermining the Trump administration and U.S. interests by maintaining ties to Zarif.”

In May 2018, the Boston Globe reported that Kerry had met with Zarif several months earlier to discuss ways to keep the Iran nuclear deal made during the Obama administration. In September 2018, Kerry admitted to radio host Hugh Hewitt that he had met “three or four times” with Zarif AFTER he (Kerry) was no longer Secretary of State.

President Donald Trump accused Kerry in April 2019 of violating the Logan Act. This law “prohibits private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments on behalf of the U.S. government.” Apparently, nothing came of the accusation.

            Now, Kerry is in the spotlight once again with allegations that he passed secret information to Iran about strikes made by Israel in Syria. Of course, Kerry is denying the allegations by saying that he did not share the information with Iran as Secretary of State or after leaving office.

            The new allegations are being made by Iran International (London-based outlet) and The New York Times. Allegedly, there was a secret audio recording with Zarif making a statement about Kerry. He said that Kerry had told him that “Israeli forces had struck more than 200 Iranian targets in Syria.” He suggested that he (Zarif) was surprised by the disclosure.

Of course, Republican lawmakers are calling for Kerry’s resignation from the National Security Council. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said the following in a written statement yesterday: “If this tape is verified, it would signal catastrophic and disqualifying recklessness by Envoy Kerry to Foreign Minister Zarif that endangered the safety of Americans and our allies. And it would be consistent with his long pattern of empowering Iran’s regime.”

            Kerry is denying any disclosure of secret materials, but his denial left some unanswered questions about what he did not say. Chuck Ross at The Daily Caller noted the following. 

Although Kerry denied the report about Zarif’s remarks, he did not directly accuse the Iranian official of lying during the interview reported by Iran International. The Iranian government has not disputed the authenticity of the audio recording, though it decried that it was leaked.

            The Iranian government does not like the fact that the information was leaked, but it does not claim the recording is false. Kerry denied the report but did not accuse Zarif of lying. According to the recording, Zarif made the comments to an Iranian journalist, but the report does not mention a timeframe for the alleged remarks of Kerry.

            The fact is that “Israel’s activities in Syria have been widely reported for years in the media.” However, “the Israeli government did not officially acknowledge the extent of its military action until September 2018.” At the time, Israeli Intelligence Minister Israel Katz said, “Only just now it was published – in the name of military sources, so I can quote it too – that in the last two years Israel has taken military action more than 200 times within Syria itself.”

            On September 12, 2018, Kerry admitted meeting with Zarif “three or four times” since leaving government. However, the Boston Globe’s report in May 2018 said that Kerry had met with Zarif several months earlier. The May 2018 report was more than a year after Kerry left office in January 2017 – and more than four months prior to the release of the information by Israel.

            John Kerry may be in a difficult position – between a rock (the audio tape) and a hard place (his own words about meeting with Zarif). If he is a traitor, I hope that he receives the punishment of a serial traitor. If not, I hope that his name is cleared.

 

Who Is Mark Robinson?

             Mark Robinson is the first black lieutenant governor of North Carolina. Not only is Robinson black, but he is also a conservative Republican lieutenant governor. He recently spoke during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. Robinson gave some of his personal history and then spoke on the assigned topic for his visit – the “evolving landscape of voter discrimination.” 

            Robinson first said that he is “very proud of the history in this nation of my people” and spoke about the numerous ways that Blacks have been mistreated. He spoke of all the “sacrifices of our ancestors” that made it possible for him to be the lieutenant governor of his state, for a black man to sit in the White House for two terms, and “for millions of us to be leaders in business, athletics, government, and culture add up to an incredible story of victory.”

But today, we hear Georgia law being compared to Jim Crow, that black voices are being silenced and that black voices are being kept out.

How? By bullets? By bombs? By nooses? No, by requiring a free ID to secure the vote. Let me say that again: by requiring a free ID to secure the vote. How absolutely preposterous.

Am I to believe that black Americans who have overcome the atrocities of slavery, who were victorious in the civil rights movement, and now sit in the highest levels of this government could not figure out how to get a free ID to secure their votes? That they need to be coddled by politicians because they don’t think we can figure out how to make our voices heard?

Are you kidding me? The notion that people must be protected from a free ID to secure their votes is not just insane – it is insulting.

And let me tell you something about this. This doesn’t have anything to do with justice, this has everything to do with power.

            Robinson continued by explaining why the Georgia ID law is all about power. He stated that HR 1 “is designed to keep one party in power and ensure they stay there indefinitely.” He continued by explaining that they plan to stay in power by “taking away the rights of states given by the Constitution to govern their own elections, to mandate a partisan wish list that comes down from that federal government.” The items in the bill include “using government dollars to fund campaigns in order to give an advantage to one party; mandating that felons are allowed to vote, including illegal immigrants on voter rolls; and of course, trying to ban states from having voter ID.”

The last thing I’ll say is this, many people know that I’m a strong proponent of the Second Amendment, and I always will be. I believe that the right to keep and bear arms should always be available to law-abiding citizens, but the first line of defense in maintaining the integrity of the Second Amendment is having an ID to show when requiring that ID when you purchase that firearm.

In the same way, I believe that voter ID is our first line of defense for protecting the integrity of the right to vote. And that’s what this should be about. It should be about integrity, not power. Thank you.

            I have been a fan of Robinson for several years. He first came on the national scene a few years ago when he stood up at a local meeting of some kind and blasted the local politicians for trying to take Second Amendment rights away from law-abiding citizens. I liked his courage, and I liked his delivery. I am grateful to know that he holds a leadership position in his state. I also consider him to be a genius to link the ID requirements to buy a gun to the ID requirement for voting. If we are not willing to mail guns out to everybody, why should we mail ballots out to everybody? Voting integrity is every bit as important as knowing who is buying the guns.

Why Is the Second Amendment Essential to Freedom?

             The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is the Second Amendment, which has been in the news much lately. To set the stage, the wording of the Second Amendment is “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

            The Biden administration is trying hard to take Second Amendment rights away from Americans. According to John Fritze at USA Today, the Supreme Court recently refused to hear three challenges to a ban on gun ownership made by the federal government. Advocates were disappointed to when the Supreme Court declined to hear the cases. The Supreme Court let stand several lower court hearings the prohibited certain people from owning a gun – “people convicted of driving under the influence, making false statements on tax returns and selling counterfeit cassette tapes.” 

            The Supreme Court justices did not explain why they refused to hear the challenges. However, their refusal is not new because their last major rulings about gun rights were made in 2008 and 2010. Nevertheless, advocates for gun rights will continue to fight for Second Amendment rights.

“While we are disappointed the Supreme Court chose to allow grossly improper lower court rulings to stand, (we) will continue our aggressive litigation strategy,” said Adam Kraut, senior director of legal operations at the Firearms Policy Coalition, which represented several of the petitioners.

            The progressives and socialists are eager to take guns away from Americans because the American gun owners form the largest “army” in the world. The founding fathers and the framers of the Constitution had just finished an eight-year-long war with Great Britain. One of the first things that the British Army tried to do was confiscate the guns of Americans. Every tyrant in history has first disarmed the people and then started to kill the unwanted people. The only way that Americans will maintain their freedoms is to keep their right to keep and bear arms.

How Can I Become a Disciple of Jesus Christ?

             My Come, Follow Me lesson for this week took me to Doctrine and Covenants 41-44. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was growing rapidly in 1830 and 1831, and many new converts were rushing to Kirtland, Ohio, to join with the Saints. The growth was exciting but challenging.

            Many of the new converts were bringing doctrines and practices from their previous religions. Upon arriving in Kirtland in February 1831, Joseph Smith discovered that a group of new members were attempting to have their property in common as did the Saints in the New Testament (see Acts 4:32-37). Joseph inquired of the Lord and received revelations where the Lord corrected and clarified some important matters.

            The Lord gave the revelation, which is now Doctrine and Covenants 41, on February 4, 1831, to help the Saints prepare to receive His law that He would reveal a few days later. The first five verses of this section are as follow:

1 Hearken and hear, O ye my people, saith the Lord and your God, ye whom I delight to bless with the greatest of all blessings, ye that hear me; and ye that hear me not will I curse, that have professed my name, with the heaviest of all cursings.

2 Hearken, O ye elders of my church whom I have called, behold I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall assemble yourselves together to agree upon my word;

3 And by the prayer of your faith ye shall receive my law, that ye may know how to govern my church and have all things right before me.

4 And I will be your ruler when I come; and behold, I come quickly, and ye shall see that my law is kept.

5 He that receiveth my law and doeth it, the same is my disciple; and he that saith he receiveth it and doeth it not, the same is not my disciple, and shall be cast out from among you.

            The Lord promised to reveal His law “by the prayer of [their] faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 41:3). To help the Saints to prepare to receive His law, the Lord explained that they must receive His law and do it to become true disciples (see Doctrine and Covenants 41:5). Although many people profess to be Christians or followers of Christ, not all of them are willing to do what He says. Those who are obedient in following Him and doing what He says will have the privilege of entering the kingdom of heaven (see Matthew 7:21).

A few days later on February 9, the Lord revealed His law, the revelation that is now known as Doctrine and Covenants 42. The Lord called Section 42 “my law to govern my church” (verse 59). This section gives truths that are necessary to establish the Lord’s Church in the latter days. One important truth is that there is always something new to learn: “If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge” (Doctrine and Covenants 42:61).

Several latter-day Apostles of Jesus Christ have reminded us what it means to be His disciples. Then-Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “Following Christ is not a casual or occasional practice but a continuous commitment and way of life that applies at all times and in all places” (“Followers of Christ,” Ensign, May 2013, 97).

Then-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency testified that being a disciple is more than speaking about Jesus Christ or proclaiming to be a disciple.

It is not enough merely to speak of Jesus Christ or proclaim that we are His disciples. It is not enough to surround ourselves with symbols of our religion. Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessings of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator discipleship” is a preferred if not a primary way of worshipping.

Ours is not a secondhand religion. We cannot receive the blessings of the gospel merely by observing the good that others do. We need to get off the sidelines and practice what we preach” (“The Way of the Disciple,” Ensign, May 2009, 76-77).

            Jesus Christ invites all people to follow Him and become His disciple. Those people who learn His law and do it will be blessed, but those who know the law and refuse to follow it will be cursed.

Why Is Good Parenting Essential in the Lives of Children and Teenagers?

             Good parenting strengthens families, communities, and nations. When children and teenagers are taught and disciplined (another word for taught) properly at home, they are much less likely to have negative run-ins with civil authorities. This is shown in three recent deaths of young teenagers. The best parenting comes from the two biological parents, but it can be done by others, such as stepparents, foster parents, teachers, or coaches.

            Adam Toledo, 13-year-old boy from Chicago, was shot and killed around 2:30 a.m. on March 29, 2021, in a confrontation with police. Eric Stillman was pursuing members of the Latin King Gang, who had been shooting at cars. Toledo was with a 21-year-old man, and the two of them fled. Toledo refused to stop when ordered by the cop. A gun was seen in his hand a split-second before the shooting, even though he tossed the gun and was in the process of raising his hands. Numerous people failed Adam as expressed in an article by Mateo Zapata. 

At a young age, Adam was categorized as a special education student and separated from everyone else at school. Surrounded by the same six students with varying degrees of severe learning disabilities, Adam didn’t have the chance to develop strong friendships with any of his classmates….

“He once tagged in the school and everyone was obsessed with needing to paint over his tag, but no one took the time to ask why he was tagging in the first place,” one teacher told me. “It was clear he needed someone to talk to and the space to socialize himself better. He really liked to draw, his penmanship was perfect. I think if we offered an art class, he would’ve taken it, but we don’t even offer that to our students. He just needed one friend, one classmate or one other student he could connect with …”

School staff also noticed changes in Adam the past few years. Another educator said he showed up to school with an earring on, shaved a line in his eyebrow and during a crafts activity one day he cut a gun out of paper. Staff tried bringing up concerns, they said, but nobody cared. “He was just one kid, but that one kid mattered to me.

“I don’t think he knew how dangerous his environment was, he was so young. I think there were a lot of factors,” this teacher said. “A lot of people failed him. A lack of socialization around other students is going to lead to something bad. The easy way out was hanging out with people that he thought cared about him.”

At school, Adam described his friends from the neighborhood as “family” and said they “cared a lot about him.”

The article did not say anything about Adam’s parents or family. Where was he living? Who was his guardian? Why was he running around with a 21-year-old man and shooting at cars with a gun at 2:30 a.m.?

The second case shows the loss of two young girls. Nyaira Givens, age 13 years, was a freshman in a high school in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was stabbed to death with a pocketknife by another 13-year-old girl about 9:00 p.m. on Monday, April 19, 2021. The stabbing took place near the victim’s home during a fight. One girl is dead, and the other girl faces a murder charge. Family members said the two girls were former friends, but no one knew why they were fighting. 

The questions about this case include why the girls chose to solve their problems with a knife fight. Why were the girls out at 9:00 p.m. on a school night? Why were the girls fighting rather than discussing the problem with parents?

The third involves another cop shooting. Ma’Khia Bryant, age 15-16, was shot by Officer Nicholas Reardon (age 23), while she was in the act of lunging with a knife at two people. The shooting took place in Columbus, Ohio, about 4:30 p.m. on April 21, 2021, after police were called to the scene by a would-be victim. Bryant was living in a foster home and got upset at two former foster sisters who came to visit their mother on her birthday. The foster mother later said that Bryant became angry with the two foster sisters when they indicated that she should make her bed and clean up the house. 

I have not read why Bryant was not living with her biological parents. However, the fact that she was in a foster home says that something in the parental home was not right. One girl is dead, while other girls say the officer saved their lives. Even though the officer shot Bryant to save the foster sisters, Black Lives Matter (BLM) members are demanding his arrest for murder. It is one more case of White cop shooting Black teenager.

Most children and teenagers being reared in loving homes with intentional parenting by their biological parents do not join gangs or have knife fights. This statement applies in cases of disabled, average, or gifted children: most members of the rising generation reared with intentional parenting do not get in serious trouble. When parents are present in the life of a young person and acting for the good of the child, they can strengthen their family, community, and nation.

Does America Have a Race Problem?

            The cries of racism are more shrill and louder than they have ever been in our nation. Yet, the term racist or racism means less now than it has ever meant. Someone stated that “nothing is racist if everything is racist.” This is a true statement. If everything is racist, then racism is the norm for that society. If everything in the United States is racist, there is no racism in the United States!

            The socialists who are trying to destroy our constitutional government are using race to divide and conquer Americans. I believe that there are racists in America, but I also believe that they are relatively few. This is especially true when compared to the millions of people who are called racist!

            In an effort to understand exactly what is meant by racist or racism, I went to a dictionary for a definition. Merriam-Webster online dictionary defined racism as “a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” The Free Dictionary online defined racist as “the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is a superior to others; discrimination or prejudice based on race.” 

In other words, a racist is any person that is intolerant, prejudiced, or bigoted against another person or group of people of a certain race – or against a person or group of people that are not a certain race. If any person – White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, Mexican, or whatever – thinks that their race is superior to every other race, that person is a racist no matter to what race they belong.

Most Americans – particularly those who voted for Barack Obama for President in 2008 – thought that electing a Black man as President would end racism in the United States. His election made the race problem worse than it had been for several previous decades.

Now we are being told that the United States has been racist since its beginning and fought the Revolutionary War to maintain the institution of slavery. We are told that even our founding documents – the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States – are racist. I recently learned that highways are racist, and today I learned that soap dispensers are racist. We obviously have systemic racism from the top to the bottom of our nation! Yet, if everything is racist, nothing is racist.

I also sought understanding about systemic racism and found this definition at Cambridge: “policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organization, and that result in and support a continued unfair advantage to some people and unfair or harmful treatment of others based on race.” 

If the United States is guilty of systemic racism, only one race would be thriving, and the leaders of the nation would be coming from only one race. For example, Whites should be the only race thriving if the United States has systemic racism. That would mean that there could not be any presidents, vice presidents, governors, mayors, sports stars, CEOs of corporations, etc. that are of any other race. We know that this is not true and is becoming less true with time.

President Barack Obama is a Black man. Vice President Kamala Harris is a Black woman. Tim Scott is a Black senator, and Maxine Waters is a Black congresswoman with many other Black representatives joining her there. Oprah Winfrey is a famous Black television star, and Meghan Markle is a Black woman married to Prince Harry. There are thousands, maybe millions of other Black, Asian, Hispanic, and Mexican leaders in our nation. This number does not include all the Black super stars on football and basketball teams. It also does not include citizens of Asian, Hispanic, or Mexican descent who are leaders. This site gives information on the racial makeup in the current Congress.

            About a quarter of voting members (23%) of the U.S. House of Representatives and                                Senate are racial or ethnic minorities, making the 117^th Congress the most racially and                            ethnically diverse in history. There has been a long-running trend toward higher numbers                        of non-White lawmakers on Capitol Hill: This is the sixth Congress to break the record                            set by the one before it.

Overall, 124 lawmakers today identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander or Native American, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Congressional Research Service. This represents a 97% increase over the 107^th Congress of 2001-03, which had 63 minority members.

Among today’s senators and representatives, the overwhelming majority of racial and ethnic minority members are Democrats (83%), while 17% are Republicans. This represents a shift from the last Congress, when just 10% of non-White lawmakers were Republicans. Our analysis reflects the 532 voting members of Congress seated as of Jan. 26, 2021.

            How can the United States be systematically racist when citizens elect a Black president, a Black vice president, a Black senator, and thousands of Black, Asian, Hispanic, and Mexican representatives, governors, mayors, and other leaders – with the numbers increasing? It is not possible! However, I will admit that there are racists and bigots in the United States, and I believe that they come from every race.

           Most Americans judge people on their character and not the color of their skin. I hardly noticed the difference in races – I saw the difference but it did not matter – until the past dozen years. Now, I cannot NOT notice it because of the cries of racism and racist.

My husband and I have trusted our cars and trucks to a Black mechanic and his family for nearly four decades. We did not take our business to him because of the color of his skin. We went to him the first time on a friend’s recommendation, and he proved to be an excellent, fair, and honest mechanic. If he had been anything less, we would have taken our business elsewhere.

            Although the heritage of both my husband and I and our posterity to this point is White European, my extended family is a mixture of all races. We have family members who are Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Hispanic, Mexican, Native American, and several Central and South American. We know that certain family members are other races, but it makes no difference because they are family.

            This is the way that America should be. We should treat each other as human beings no matter the color of our skins. We should not expect anyone to be less of what they are, whether they are Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Mexican, or whatever. God created them the way that they are, and we are all His children. We are family, and we should start acting like family! We are Americans and should work together to make American as great as it can be!

Will America Survive the Biden-Harris Administration?

             Immigration of undocumented migrants into the United States has been a problem for more than forty years. President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) on November 6, 1986. This act supposedly reformed immigration law in the United States. According to this site, the law, also known as the Reagan Amnesty law, included the following action items: 

·         required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status;

·         made it illegal to hire or recruit illegal immigrants knowingly;

·         legalized certain seasonal agricultural undocumented immigrants, and;

·         legalized undocumented immigrants who entered the United States before January 1, 1982 and had resided there continuously with the penalty of a fine, back taxes due, and admission of guilt; candidates were required to prove that they were not guilty of crimes, that they were in the country before January 1, 1982, and that they possessed at least a minimal knowledge about U.S. history, government, and the English language.

Approximately 3 million undocumented migrants applied for amnesty after Reagan signed the amnesty bill into law. There were 2.7 million applications approved. American citizens were promised that the border would be secured in exchange for the amnesty – something that has not happened even thirty-five years later. 

            From Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump, all the presidential candidates promised to secure the border, but only Trump did something about it. The Trump-Pence administration “built more than 450 miles of the world’s most robust border wall, reducing illegal crossings by over 90%.”

In addition, the former administration ended the “catch and release” practice of catching migrants crossing the border illegally, giving them a court date, and releasing them into the United States – never to be seen or heard from again. 

            That was not all. The Trump-Pence administration formed a partnership with Mexico – known as the Migrant Protection Protocols – and ended asylum fraud. Migrants were not so willing to travel to the southern border when they learned that they would be required to remain in Mexico while their cases for asylum were being adjudicated.

            The Trump-Pence administration did all the above – plus putting in greater protection during the pandemic. Under emergency conditions, they authorized the immediate removal of “every illegal immigrant apprehended at the southern border,” and this was done to “protect the health and safety of American citizens.”

            The Biden-Harris administration “inherited the most secure southern border in American history” – and then changed the policies by signing executive orders on the first day(s) in office. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been in office for three months and now have “the worst border crisis in the history of our country.” This is the way that former Vice President Mike Pence explained the current conditions.

On his first day in office, Biden suspended nearly all deportations nationwide, shut down construction of the border wall, reinstated catch and release, canceled the Migrant Protection Protocols, and proposed amnesty for millions of illegal aliens currently residing in the United States. Not long after that, the Biden administration announced it would allow unaccompanied minors to enter the country.

Seemingly overnight, illegal immigration surged to levels unseen since 2006. The number of unaccompanied minors apprehended at the border is the highest ever recorded, and the results are heartbreaking.

Smugglers are dropping toddlers from top 14-foot-high border barriers, leaving children as young as 3 to fend for themselves in the wilderness. Tragically, children and adults have drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande. American citizens living near the border have become victims of burglary, theft, and worse.

The problem isn’t getting better – it is rapidly growing worse.

Biden administration officials now admit that as many as 2 million migrants may try to enter our country illegally this year, the most of any year in the 21^st century.

In addition to spending $87 million on hotel rooms for illegal aliens, the administration frantically has converted military bases and convention centers into emergency housing in anticipation of the next, even larger, wave of unaccompanied minors, families, and adults. Yet as the human suffering intensifies on both sides of the border, neither Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris has taken the time to visit the border and witness the crisis firsthand.

            Why are so many migrants making their way to the United States? They say that Joe Biden invited them and wants them here. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador sees it this way: “Expectations were created that with the government of President Biden there would be a better treatment of migrants. And this has caused Central American migrants, and also from our country, wanting to cross the border thinking that it is easier to do so.”

            The fact is that the progressive policies coming from Democrats caused the catastrophe at the border. The Trump-Pence administration has solved the immigration problem and had moved on to other problems. The Biden-Harris administration resurrected the illegal immigration problem. The disaster at our southern border could be solved quickly by reinstating the Trump policies that were so quickly ended.

            Democrats must want the calamity at the border, and the chaos that is in the nation. The radical left wants our borders to be open and allows anyone to come and go. The United States welcomes immigrants, but we cannot assimilate the unprecedented surge that is coming at the current time. The surge is the direct result of open border policies of the Democrats.

            We can expect the crisis at the border will continue. The drug cartels and human traffickers will take advantage of the chaos at the border. America will be flooded with poisonous drugs and violence, and Americans will lose jobs, receive lower wages, send their children to overcrowded schools, and go without public services because of the increased demands.

            The simple truth of the matter is that the Trump-Biden policies worked, and the Biden-Harris policies do not work. This is just one example of a statement often made: Elections matter! Will America as we know it still exist at the end of the Biden-Harris administration? Only time will tell!

What Was Said by Witnesses in Senate Hearing on Voter Laws?

             The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing today titled “Jim Crow 2021: The Latest Assault on the Right to Vote.” The Democrat majority titled the hearing, and the title itself caused some problems in the committee. Black and white lawmakers considered the title as “trivializing a violent and bigoted era of American history.      

            As most well-informed readers would assume, the focus of the hearing in the Senate was the new election integrity law recently passed in Georgia. As I have written previously about the law, it requires voters to identify themselves before submitting absentee ballots. However, the law itself suggests different types of identification that can be used. The law codifies ballot drop boxes and expands weekend voting. The law also reduces the number of days for early voting from 19 to 17 and gives an earlier deadline to mail absentee ballots.

            Nothing about the new law is racist, but Democrats are throwing a fit about it and wasting taxpayer funds in holding this hearing. Even the President of the United States and Democrat members of Congress call the law a modern “Jim Crow” measure. Fred Lucas at The Daily Signal found six key points in the hearing. 

1. “True Racism”

Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, who is black, noted that he lived during the Jim Crow era, when state and local laws shut blacks out of elections as well as employment, housing, and education opportunities. Comparing the Georgia law to such measures is “absolutely outrageous,” Owens said. “True racism is this, the projection of the Democratic Party on my proud race. It’s called the soft bigotry of low expectations, “ Owens told the Senate panel….

“What I find extremely offensive is the narrative from the left that black people are not smart enough, not educated enough, not desirous enough of an education, to do what every other culture and race does in this country: Get an ID,” Owens said….

2. “Propagated Primarily by Democrats”

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, later educated his fellow senators on the legacy of Jim Crow, but Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard Durbin, D-Ill., didn’t want to hear it.

Lee noted that during post-Civil War Reconstruction, many black members of Congress – all Republicans – were elected in the South. But after federal troops withdrew from the South, Democrat-controlled state governments established Jim Crow laws to prevent blacks from voting and other activities.

“This was a system of laws designed to hold black Americans back, hold them back in part because white Democrats in the South didn’t want them to vote and didn’t like the fact that they were voting as and being elected as Republicans,” Lee said. “Let’s not compare a voter registration law – one that makes sure dead people can’t vote – to that. We can do better than that, and we should.”

But Durbin argued that both … political parties changed.

“I will concede the era of Jim Crow in the South was propagated primarily by Democrats – southern Democrats and segregationists,” the Illinois Democrat said. “Political alignment changed in America starting in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and Republicans became more dominant in those states for the most part. What we have today is the party of Lincoln is refusing to join us in expanding the Voting Rights Act.”

Lee responded to Durbin with more history.

“Republicans never ceased to be the party that believes the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th Amendments matter and that the inherent dignity of the immortal human soul is such that [it] should never be denigrated by subjecting someone, based on their race, to a lack of civil rights,” Lee said. “So, it’s not fair, it’s not accurate, to portray the two parties as having somehow crossed… Some Southern Democrats later became Republicans. That’s true. But it didn’t change the Republican Party’s alignment on this.”

Durbin came back to say, “The political alignment has changed. That’s obvious.” He argued that Republicans no longer back the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Lee responded: “It is not accurate to say the Democrats support the Voting Rights Act and Republicans do not. We are talking about a particular application of Section 5.”

Durbin: “I happen to disagree with that.”

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was rejected by the Supreme Court in a 2013 ruling that determined state election laws did not have to be reviewed by the federal government.

3. “Unlike Anything We’ve Seen Since … Jim Crow”

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., expressed strong disdain for the law passed in his state.

“This is a full-fledged assault on voting rights, unlike anything we’ve seen since the era of Jim Crow,” Warnock told the Senate committee….

Several Republicans on the committee objected to the hearing’s title.

After calling the Georgia law and other similar state proposals “Jim Crow” several times, Durbin later conceded that it was perhaps not exactly like Jim Crow.

“Jim Crow, at its worst, was more violent than what we have today,” Durbin said.

4. Abrams on Voter ID and a “Stolen” Election

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., noted that a report by the 2005 Carter-Baker Commission determined that voter fraud wasn’t widespread but did occur and could affect the outcome of close elections.

“Absentee ballots remain the largest source of voter fraud. That’s what the Carter-Baker Commission said, not me,” Graham said in prefacing his question. “The Carter-Baker report recommended prohibiting third-party organizations, candidates, and political party activists from handling absentee ballots. That’s related to ballot harvesting.”

“My questions for Ms. Abrams: Do you support voter identification laws?” Graham asked…. “Yes,” responded Abrams. … What I have objected to is restrictive identification.”

Graham then asked: “Do you support the idea that voting should be limited to American citizens?” “Yes,” Abrams responded.

Graham asked: “Do you support ballot harvesting? Are you familiar with that term?”

Abrams answered that perhaps at Native American reservations it is necessary for tribal elders to gather ballots.

When Graham asked about other circumstances, she said: “It depends on the situation.” …

5. Losing All-Star Game or “Losing Our Democracy”

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., noted that Abrams spoke with Major League Baseball executives in the days leading up to their decision to pull the All-Star Game from Atlanta. She used the term “Jim Crow 2.0” to refer to the Georgia law 10 times, Cotton said.

[Under more questioning, Abrams declared that the boycott of Georgia was not her goal in this case.] …

But she added: “To me, one day of a game is not worth losing our democracy.”

6. “Why Should We Be Made to Be Like California?”

New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, a Democrat, expressed concerns about congressional Democrats’ legislation, known as HR 1 and S 1, that would lead to nationalizing elections, eliminating state voter ID laws, and expanding the contentious practice of ballot harvesting, among other things.

“I don’t want Texas to have to be like New Hampshire or Arkansas or California,” Gardner … told the Senate committee. “But why should we be made to be like California in particular, or other states? We have a way of doing it that works for the people of New Hampshire. The turnout is proof that it works. And this kind of federal legislation is harmful for our way of voting.” …

New Hampshire, Gardner noted, doesn’t have early voting or no-excuse absentee voting. Still, he said, the state has among the nation’s highest voter participation rates….

He told senators that passing HR 1 and S 1 would undermine New Hampshire’s success.

“If you were to pass this, you’re completely taking away a process that has developed in New Hampshire for many, many years, works in the state. Why would you want to do it when the turnout is as high as it is?” he said.

            It appears from Lucas’s report that the Democrats do not want to listen to reasons for why the Georgia is not a Jim Crow law. They believe what they want to believe, and they will do what they think that they need to do to advance their agenda. They do not care about what the people in New Hampshire, Georgia, or any other state want.

The longer I listen to the so-called reasoning of Democrats, the more I understand a statement made by someone living in Europe. The statement goes something like this: The United States may survive a Joe Biden presidency, but it will never survive the people who voted for a president like him. Another statement that seems to apply here: You cannot fix stupid!

America will not survive unless her citizens wake up and look behind the curtains to see who is pulling Biden’s strings. America needs citizens who are well-read and intelligent, not just sheep following a donkey down the road.