The Social Conservative Review—August 11, 2011 Edition
by
Aug. 11, 2011
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Dear Friends,
This week's riots in Britain have reminded us that human nature is a volatile thing. As former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once put it, "The veneer of civilization is very thin."
Man is a fallen being, yet capable of great nobility of character. The Bible's teachings about man had an especially profound affect on the Founders as they considered how imperfect men could govern themselves.
Although they affirmed human fallenness, they also affirmed human dignity. If persons are made in God's image and likeness, then they have value before Him which should be honored by those political powers He ordains to govern them.
"Through the Judeo-Christian tradition, human rights are rooted in the moral worth with which a loving Creator has endowed each human life," writes scholar A. James Reichley, "and social authority is legitimized by making it answerable to transcendent moral law."
This cannot be understated. Without a grounding in biblical revelation and natural law, which is itself reliant on a belief in communicated transcendent truth, we have no basis for proclaiming human uniqueness and dignity.
"Religious liberty is a divine right, immediately derived from the Supreme Being, without the intervention of any created authority," New Hampshire preacher Israel Evans proclaimed in 1791. The same can be said for the rights to life and property, and the "pursuit of happiness," as articulated in our Declaration of Independence.
At the Family Research Council, we work to strengthen the veneer of which Mrs. Thatcher spoke through advancing measures that encourage faith, family, and freedom. For the sake of civilization, we believe there can few more important works.
Sincerely,
Rob Schwarzwalder
Senior Vice President
Family Research Council
Educational Freedom and Reform
Homeschooling
- "Ranks of homeschooled kids in Arizona expected to rise," Eugene Scott, The Tucson Citizen
- "School Board: Homeschooling Disorganized and Isolationist," Home School Legal Defense Association
Legislation and Policy Proposals
- "Facilities Financing: Monetizing Education's Untapped Resource," Himanshu Kothari, American Enterprise Institute
- "Head to Head: Should California let universities use race as a factor in admissions?," Ben Boychuk and Pia Lopez, The Sacramento Bee
- "Extra Credit: Incentivizing Teachers," Jacob L. Vigdor, The American
- "School choice is risk-free, education secretary says," Tracie Mauriello, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- "Actually Catholic Universities," Bevil Branwell, OMI, The Catholic Thing
Government Reform
Regulation
- "Where's Your Budget, Mr. President?," Paul Ryan, The Wall Street Journal
- "A Downgrade Awakening," Opinion, TheWall Street Journal
Waste/Fraud/Abuse
- "Turning A New Page In The House," Walter Russell Mead, Via Meadia
- "Arresting Critics," Robinson O'Brien-Bours, The Ashbrook Center
- "A Crisis of Government," R.R. Reno, First Things
- "Back to the Future on Poverty Policy," Heather MacDonald, City Journal
Health Care
Abstinence
- "Sex Economics 101," Katelyn Beaty, Christianity Today
- "At-Risk Youth Get Sex Ed and Abstinence Message With the Affordable Care Act," Jessica P., Care2
- "Fighting for innocence from sin," Gabrielle Pickle, Baptist Press
Conscience Protection
- "Let HHS Know What You Think," Jeanne Monahan, Family Research Council
- "Religious groups object to covering birth control," Ricardo Alonzo-Zaldivar, Associated Press
- "Unsheltered," Edward Lee Pitts, WORLD Magazine
- "NARAL: Force Religious Groups to Cover Birth Control, Abortion," Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com
- "Independents Oppose Mandatory Contraception Coverage -- But What About Abortion Drugs?," Jeffrey H. Anderson, The Weekly Standard
- "Contraception and Healthcare Rights," Christopher O. Tollefsen, The Public Discourse
- "HHS Needs to Remove Itself from the Sanctuary," Sister Mary Ann Walsh, The Huffington Post
Health care reform: Political and Legislative efforts
- "The Debt Deal Will Undo ObamaCare," Joseph Antos, The American
- "Unhealthy Debt," James C. Capretta and Yuval Levin, Ethics and Public Policy Center
- "Kansas returns $31.5M health grant," Jason Millman and Kate Nocera, The Politico
- "Jobs Gone to Obamacare," Grace-Marie Turner, The Galen Institute
Homosexuality
- "$350 million rescinded: Aid money to Malawi dependent on complicity in homosexual rights agenda," LifeSiteNews.com
- "Ready or not," Edward Lee Pitts, WORLD Magazine
- "One Man, One Woman, and the Common Good: Marriage's Public Purpose," Austin R. Nimocks, The Public Discourse
- "Philosophy, Marriage, and Moral Grandstanding," Sherif Girgis, The Public Discourse
Human Life and Bioethics
Abortion
- "The Devil is in the (Demographic) Details," Julia Kiewit and Henry Potrykus, Family Research Council
- "H.H.S and the 'Contraceptive' Mandate: Culture of Death Advances Its War On Life," F. K. Bartels, Catholic Online
- "Planned Parenthood Wants To Introduce 'Tele-Med' Abortions," Tim Duggan, Catholic Online
- "Thomson's "Defense of Abortion" at Forty," Francis J. Beckwith, The Catholic Thing
- "Tele-med Abortions No Route to Making Abortion Either Safe or Rare," Ericka Andersen, The Foundry
- "San Fran Leaders Attack Pregnancy Centers That Don't Offer Abortion," Ericka Andersen, The Foundry
- "Is Sex Selection Abortion a Human Rights Abuse?," Wesley J. Smith, Secondhand Smoke
- "Study: Gender Test Works, Could Lead to Sex-Selection Abortions," Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com
Bioethics and Biotechnology
- "Sex Selection Eugenics," Dr. David Prentice, Family Research Council
- "Many top US scientists wish they had more children," Physorg.com
- "The Demand for Death: Medical Research & Fetal Tissue," Daniel James Devine, Crosswalk
- "Support Life, However Conceived," Mary McClusky, Lifenews.com
- "The Trouble with Transhumanism," Wesley J. Smith, Center for Bioethics and Culture
Euthanasia and End of Life Issues
- "The Modern Roman Colosseum: Euthanasia as a Spectator Sport," Rachel Alexander, Townhall
- "Human life must be valued," Opinion, The Calgary Herald
Stem Cell Research
- "Treating Advanced Breast Cancer with Adult Stem Cells," Dr. David Prentice, Family Research Council
- "Gov. Rick Perry, Adult Stem Cell Patient?," Dr. David Prentice, Family Research Council
- "Better Matchmaker for Adult Stem Cell Transplants," Dr. David Prentice, Family Research Council
- "Dr. Bernadine Healy, Former NIH Director, Passes," Dr. David Prentice, Family Research Council
Marriage and Family
Adoption
- "Illinois Foster Care System: Leaving No Good Deed Unpunished," Chris Marlink, Family Research Council
- "UK: Statistics Show One Adoption for Every 2,235 Abortions," Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com
- "Anti-abortion charities should help struggling mothers-to-be," Lisa Hallgarten, The Guardian
- "Catholic Charities Set to Face ACLU in Gay Adoption Lawsuit," Stephanie Samuel, The Christian Post
Family Economics
- "Payback time," Joseph Slife, WORLD Magazine
- "The Debt Crisis and Washington Disconnect," Ray Nothstine, The Acton Institute
- "Why the U.S. debt deal should have us all reevaluating our values," Jordan J. Ballor, Think Christian
- "Saints in the Marketplace: A Biblical Perspective on the World of Work," Andrew David, The Other Journal
- "CASE's Letter to the President," Citizens for a Sustainable Economy
- "The Two-Biological-Parent Family and Economic Prosperity: What's Gone Wrong," William Jeynes, The Public Discourse
- "Can the Middle Class Be Saved?," Don Peck, The Atlantic
Family Structure
- "Why the Gender Gap Won't Go Away. Ever.," Kay S. Hymowitz, City Journal
- "Can kids be too happy?," Amy Adair, Think Christian
- "Why So Many Moms Dress Like Their Teenage Daughters," Hans Villarica, The Atlantic
Media
Internet
- "The New Watchdogs," Conor Friedersdorf, City Journal
- "Reading Beats Tweeting," Brian Patrick Eha, City Journal
- "China's Cyber Dominance," Robinson O'Brien-Bours, The Ashbrook Center
- "What Facebook Does to Kids' Brains," Rebecca Greenfield, The Atlantic
Religion and Public Policy
Religious Liberty
- "Mark Hatfield Changed My Life in Three Minutes," Russell D. Moore, Christianity Today
- "No 'fishing for men' at Salmon Days Festival," Nate Kellum, Alliance Defense Fund
- "Overcoming the Obstacles to Faith-Based Approaches to Crime," Byron Johnson, The Public Discourse
Religion in America
- "A Model for Christian Engagement," Rob Schwarzwalder, Family Research Council
- "The Good Samaritan Didn't Use a Government Credit Card," Eric Teetsel, The Enterprise Blog
- "Unconstitutional prayers," Tony Woodlief, WORLD Magazine
- "Controversial Christianity: Understanding Faith and Politics," Tony Oleck, The Acton Institute
- "The Never Ending Culture Wars," George J. Marlin, The Catholic Thing
- "Four Centuries of Love and Suffering for the Word," Barrymore Laurence Scherer, The Wall Street Journal
Secularism
- "9th Circuit: University Can Force Christian Groups Open to Non-Christians," Morgan Feddes, Christianity Today
- "First academic journal on secularism, nonreligion to debut in January," Dan Gilgoff, CNN
International
Israel
- "Obama's Only Policy," Caroline Glick, The Jerusalem Post
- "Shapiro: Economy won't affect US's Israel obligations," Herb Keinon, The Jerusalem Post
International Economy and Family
- "A Perfect Storm in the Global Economy?," Desmond Lachman, The Enterprise Blog
Religious Persecution
- Click here to listen, as Drs. Chris Gacek (FRC) and Thomas Farr (Georgetown University) speak out about international religious persecution
- "Religious Persecution on the Rise Internationally," Rob Schwarzwalder, Family Research Council
- "Iranian Pastor Continues to Face Death Unless He Denies Christ," Rob Schwarzwalder, Family Research Council
- "Serial Genocide in Sudan," Nina Shea, National Review Online
Sharia law -- U.S., foreign
- "Is Islam Compatible with Capitalism?," Guy Sorman, City Journal
- "David Yerushalmi: The Man Behind the Anti-Shariah Movement," Andrea Elliott, New York Times
- "Another Islamist Soldier Turns Terrorist: Abdo Case Raises Questions about Army-Islam Compatibility," Daniel Pipes, The Washington Times
- "Enlisting Allah," Brian Mockenhaupt, The Atlantic
The Courts
Constitutional Issues
- "Constitutionality of the Deficit Reduction Committee," Publius, FedSoc Blog
- "Restoring Federalism," James L. Buckley, Claremont Review of Books
- "Downgrading the Constitution," W. James Antle, III, The American Spectator
Other News of Note
- "English Riots and Social Conservatism," Chris Gacek, Family Research Council
- "Tea Party Constitutionalism," Ken Thomas, The Ashbrook Center
- "Tea Party 'Terrorists,'" Jeffrey Kuhner, The Washington Times
- "Global Warming Hysteria: Chris Mooney Blames Testosterone for White Male Conservative Skepticism," Wesley J. Smith, Secondhand Smoke
- "The Power of Bad Ideas," Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal
Book reviews
- "Debating the Constitution," Gerald J. Russello, City Journal
- "Mother Teresa, CEO," Jason Byassee, Christianity Today
- "Not Another Bloody Chicken!," Alister Chapman, Christianity Today
- "Book Review: "Islam Without Extremes: a Muslim case for liberty"," Elise Hilton, The Acton Institute
- "Modern Science in the Bible by Ben Hobrink," Joan Nienhuis, Book Reviews from an Avid Reader
- "A Few Good Books About Worldviews," Jason Oakes, The Good Book Blog