The Social Conservative Review: November 8, 2012
by Krystle Gabele
November 8, 2012
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Dear Friends:
As we consider the results of this week’s election, our priorities as social conservatives remain unchanged.
We need to reconsider how we communicate our message, and demonstrate more persuasively that our ideas are both practical and compassionate, that they strengthen families more effectively than the policies of the Left. We need the intellectual rigor and moral courage necessary to engage our fellow citizens in ways they find convincing, clear, and compelling. Talking among ourselves and continually re-enforcing mutually-held ideas is insufficient in an era of profound philosophical, political, and demographic division.
But our message itself should remain unchanged, and is summarized well in these words from the Manhattan Declaration:
While the whole scope of Christian moral concern, including a special concern for the poor and vulnerable, claims our attention, we are especially troubled that in our nation today the lives of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly are severely threatened; that the institution of marriage, already buffeted by promiscuity, infidelity and divorce, is in jeopardy of being redefined to accommodate fashionable ideologies; that freedom of religion and the rights of conscience are gravely jeopardized by those who would use the instruments of coercion to compel persons of faith to compromise their deepest convictions.
May we, by God’s grace, never depart from or equivocate about these bedrock beliefs. We owe our fellow image-bearers of God, and our Creator Himself, no less.
Sincerely,
Rob Schwarzwalder
Senior Vice-President
Family Research Council
P.S. Watch FRC President Action Tony Perkins and a panel of experts discuss the meaning of Tuesday’s elections here.
Educational Freedom and Reform
Homeschooling
- “Global Conference Issues Call for Homeschool Freedom,” Home School Legal Defense Association
- “Paul Ryan Champions School Choice,” OneNewsNow
- “5 Secrets to Creating Brilliant Students,” Crosswalk
Legislation and Policy Proposals
- “Even When The Heart Condemns,” The Examined Life
- “Public and Religious Education: L’Etat, C’est Tout,” The Public Discourse
- “Reform Agenda Gains Strength,” Education Next
- “Obama the Education Spending Hawk,” Education Week
College Debt
- “New Student Loan Repayment Option Could Help Recent Graduates,” U.S. News and World Report
- “Research Student Aid Before You Reform,” The Chronicle of Higher Education
- “Pay attention to college affordability, candidates,” Chicago Tribune
- “Four Ways Colleges Can Cut Costs for Students,” Fox Business
Government Reform
Regulation
- “How government regulation turned the U.S. into one big national zoo,” National Post
- “The Science of Government Regulation,” U.S. News and World Report
- “Regulation Nation,” Values and Capitalism
Waste/Fraud/Abuse
- “Obama Lags House Republicans on Data Transparency,” Cato @ Liberty
- “How to Explain the Entitlement Crisis to an 8-Year-Old,” The Acton Institute
- “The Kindest Cuts,” City Journal
Health Care
Abstinence
- “Art Imitating Life—Parks and Recreation Takes on Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Policies,” RHRealityCheck.org
- “Report: Parents support abstinence education,” Dyersburg State Gazette
Conscience Protection
- “Anti-Conscience Mandate Halted Against Second Family-Owned Business,” The Heritage Foundation
Health care reform: Political and Legislative efforts
- “Listen for Free: Autocam’s John Kennedy on Obamacare Mandate,” The Acton Institute
- “The end of the art of the turnaround,” The American
- “Another Reason The HHS Mandate Won’t Work,” Alliance Defending Freedom
- “ObamaCare Creates the ‘Public Option,” The Galen Institute
Homosexuality
- “Same-Sex Marriage Ten Years On: Lessons from Canada,” The Public Discourse
- “32-0 and Counting ,” The Catholic Thing
- “Marriage and the New York Times ‘ Fear of Democracy,” National Review Online
- “Billy Graham Endorses Minnesota Same-Sex Marriage Ban,” Christianity Today
- “Washington, Maryland, Maine narrowly redefine marriage: Minnesota vote too close to call,” LifeSiteNews.com
Human Life and Bioethics
Abortion
- “Let’s Actually Get Real About Abortion,” First Things
- “Rape, Conception, and God: Why Mourdock Was Right,” The Public Discourse
- “The Obama Campaign and the War on Women,” Crystal Clear Conservative
- “Doubting China’s One-Child Policy Change,” Christianity Today
- “EU Court Rules Poland Must Ensure Doctors Perform Legal Abortions,” National Review Online
- “Pro-Lifers, Rejoice: We Won!,” CNSNews.com
- “Montana Approves Measure for Parental Notification on Abortion,” LifeNews.com
- “5 Ways Presidents Affect the Pro-Life Cause,” The Gospel Coalition
Bioethics and Biotechnology
- “Zombies and the Real Problem of Bioethics,” National Review Online
- “Did President Obama Restore Science to Its Rightful Place?,” The American
- “Scientists in Oregon Create Embryos With Three Genetic Parents,” LifeNews.com
Euthanasia and End of Life Issues
- “Liverpool Care Pathway Used as Euthanasia,” National Review Online
- “Our Dangerous Obsession with ‘Health’,” First Things
- “Assisted suicide measure narrowly defeated; supporters concede defeat,” The Boston Herald
Stem Cell Research
To read about the latest advances in ethical adult stem cell research, keep up with leading-edge reports from FRC’s Dr. David Prentice, click here.
- “President Obama and the Embryonic Backfire,” The Huffington Post
- “A Triumph for Ethical Stem-Cell Research,” National Catholic Register
Human Trafficking
- “Severe Shelter Beds Shortage for Survivors of Human Trafficking,” The Polaris Project
- “Ugliness of human trafficking is coming out of the shadows,” Orlando Sentinel
Marriage and Family
Adoption
- “Washington asks for cuts in adoption support,” The Seattle Times
- “Foster kids praise adoption program,” Star Tribune
Family Economics
- “Two Percent Economic Growth: Real or Apparent?,” The Center for Vision and Values
- “Black Depression,” Via Meadia
- “The Christian Case for the American Dream,” Her.meneutics
- “Speaking into the Silence: Conservatives and Poverty,” Values & Capitalism
- “Wage gap myth exposed - by feminists,” American Enterprise Institute
- “Are Young Families Today Worse Off Than Their Parents Were?,” The Sacramento Bee
Family Structure
- “Spiritual Disciplines in the Home,” The Examined Life
- “Men Don’t Mother,” The Public Discourse
- “Three Parent Children a Step Closer,” National Review Online
- “A Faithful Marriage: Love, Righteousness, and Peace,” Crosswalk
- “Parents, Let Your No Be No,” The Gospel Coalition
- “How Many Children Should We Have?,” Challies.com
- “The Blessing of Children,” The New Atlantis
- “Depressed teens need to shut off social media sites, stop texting, experts suggest,” The Deseret News
Media
Pornography
- “Responses to Pro-Porn Arguments,” PornHarms.com
- “LA Votes To Require Condoms For Porn Performers, Adult Film,” International Business Times
Internet
- “Internet Search and the Nature of Competition,” The American
- “iPhones, iPads, and Christian Parenting,” Moore to the Point
- “Friendship Does Not Compute,” The New Atlantis
Religion and Public Policy
Religious Liberty
- “A War on Religion?,” The Public Discourse
- “The IRS and the Churches,” First Things
- “US Catholic Bishops Launch Website on Religious Liberty,” The Acton Institute
- “Protect high school students’ rights to free speech,” The Washington Post
- “Has The IRS Given Up On Auditing Churches?,” Alliance Defending Freedom
Religion in America
Check out Dr. Kenyn Cureton’s feature on Watchmen Pastors called “The Lost Episodes,” featuring how religion has had an impact on our Founding Fathers.
- “‘The Weightier Provisions of the Law’,” The Gospel Coalition
- “Do Christians Have a Duty Not to Engage Culture?,” First Things
- “Martin Luther’s View of Faith & Work,” Institute for Faith, Work, & Economics
- “More God on the Quad: Religions on Campus,” The Huffington Post
- “Small Government Christian,” Patheos
- “In Defeats, Evangelicals’ Political Unity at All-Time High,” Christianity Today
- “Elections, Political Parties and an Eternal Hope in a King,” Values and Capitalism
Secularism
- “How to Resist an Aggressive Secularism,” BrandonVogt.com
International
Israel
- “Israel lays down red lines on Iran,” AEIdeas.org
- “The Limits of American Power,” The Jerusalem Post
- “Obama and the Politics of Contempt,” The Jerusalem Post
International Economy and Family
- “The Argentina Scenario,” City Journal
- “Relief at last for family finances,” London Daily Telegraph
- “China shows signs economic recovery taking shape,” KXAN.com
Religious Persecution
- “Report: Catholic Bishops Warn of Refugee Crisis in Syria,” The Acton Institute
- “What Will Become of the Middle East’s Christians?,” First Things
Sharia law — U.S., foreign
The Courts
Constitutional Issues
- “Free Speech, the Supreme Court, and Neutral Principles,” The Public Discourse
- “Supreme Court Hears Case on Class Action Limits,” The FedSoc Blog
Judicial Activism
- “Surveying the State Supreme Court Elections,” The FedSoc Blog
- “The Most Dangerous Branch,” National Affairs
Other News of Note
- “In Need of a Friend,” Crosswalk
- “America’s Fundamental Transformation,” The Center for Vision and Values
Book reviews
- ““Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe” by Anne Applebaum,” The Washington Post
- “Death Is For Real,” Christianity Today
- “Wisdom & Wonder & Interdisciplinary Studies,” The Acton Institute
- “Reading the Financial Crisis,” City Journal
- “Controversy and Interpretation: A Review of *Biblical Womanhood*,” Mere Orthodoxy