Memorial Day Is a Time to Teach Our Children About Real Heroes

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During a recent drive home from school, my six-year-old daughter began to sing.

“And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free,” she sang. “And I won’t forget the men who died who gave that right to me.”

My little girl went on to explain that she was learning the words to the song (Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.”) in preparation for her kindergarten graduation ceremony. During that special moment, I was filled with both patriotism and pride.

Monday marks the sixteenth Memorial Day since our military went to war after the 9/11 attacks. While the national media’s collective eyes have been largely transfixed on the White House and Kremlin for the past six months, U.S. troops have been killed in action during combat operations in five countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Yemen.

Five Fallen Heroes

U.S. Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Kyle Milliken, 38, was one of those American heroes. Earlier this month, he was killed while fighting the al Shabaab terrorist group “in a remote area approximately 40 miles west of Mogadishu,” Somalia, according to the Department of Defense. The Navy SEAL is the first U.S. service member killed in the African nation since the well-known “Black Hawk Down” battle in 1993.

According to the Portland Press Herald in Milliken’s home state of Maine, the high school and University of Connecticut track star joined the Navy in 2002 before earning his place inside the now-legendary SEAL Team Six. He would go on to perform dangerous missions during deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and eventually Somalia.

“We were a nation at war when he enlisted,” U.S. Navy Special Warfare Command spokesman Jason Salata told the newspaper. “He has four Bronze Stars. You don’t get that from sitting at home.”

According to the Hartford Courant, Milliken is survived by his wife, Erin, and their two children.

“His sacrifice is a stark reminder that naval special operators are forward doing their job, confronting terrorism overseas to prevent evil from reaching our shores,” U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Timothy Szymanski said in a statement published by the Courant.

In April, our nation lost U.S. Army 1st Lt. Weston Lee, 25, who made the ultimate sacrifice in Mosul, Iraq, along with U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Mark De Alencar, 37, Sgt. Joshua Rodgers, 22, and Sgt. Cameron Thomas, 23, all of whom were killed in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province. In the last six months, brave American troops have also died in Syria and Yemen.

All of these fallen heroes had families, friends, and long lists of awards and accomplishments. Despite all they had to live for, these patriots were still willing to trade their lives to protect not only the warrior standing next to them on the battlefield, but people back home who they had never met.

The genuine, astounding selflessness of those who make the ultimate sacrifice is the essence of Memorial Day. That’s why when my daughter finished singing “God Bless the U.S.A.” in the car that day, we had a discussion about both the dangers and heroes of war that I hope other parents will have with their kids as the school year ends and the summer begins.

“God Bless the U.S.A.”

On May 22 in Manchester, England, happy young girls not much older than my little girl were singing along with pop star Ariana Grande. Minutes after the concert ended, a crude, vicious bomb often found on Middle Eastern battlefields pierced the innocent lives of teenagers and children. ISIS claimed responsibility for the cowardly, sickening attack, which cannot be labeled as anything other than pure evil.

My daughter wandered in from another room and looked up at the television as I watched news coverage of the Manchester attack. I could see the confusion and fear in her eyes as they were briefly filled with the searing images of terror.

“That’s why those brave men and women we talked about go to war,” I told her. “They fight the bad people to keep them away from us.”

“I know, Daddy,” she said. “It’s just like the song says.”

A few days later, my little girl graduated from kindergarten while singing those same patriotic lyrics.

“And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today,” she sang. “Because there ain’t no doubt I love this land. God bless the U.S.A.”

Because of American heroes like Kyle Milliken, Weston Lee, Mark De Alencar, Joshua Rodgers, Cameron Thomas, and thousands more who have put service above self, our children grow up in a land that is not only free, but vigorously and righteously defended. For that, all Americans owe all fallen heroes and their Gold Star families our deepest thanks on Memorial Day – and every day. (For more from the author of “Memorial Day Is a Time to Teach Our Children About Real Heroes” please click HERE)

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Militants Attack Christians in Egypt, Killing at Least 28

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Masked militants riding in three SUVs opened fire Friday on a bus packed with Coptic Christians, including children, south of the Egyptian capital, killing at least 28 people and wounding 22, the Interior Ministry said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the fourth to target Christians since December, but it bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group. The attack came on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Islamic militants have for years been waging an insurgency mostly centered in the restive northern part of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, although a growing number of attacks have recently also taken place on the mainland. (Read more from “Militants Attack Christians in Egypt, Killing at Least 28” HERE)

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The Possible Reasons Big Corporations Are So Eager for Trump to Break His Promise on Paris Climate Deal

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European countries and major corporations are pressuring President Donald Trump to remain in the Paris climate agreement despite his promises on the campaign to withdraw the United States from the Obama-era deal that never gained congressional approval.

The Trump administration so far is sticking with being undecided—at least until Trump returns to the United States from his first foreign trip, where on Friday, he’s meeting with Group of Seven ally countries, which support the agreement.

Back home, the pressure is growing from multinational corporations, even the energy sector, which have opposed stricter limitations on carbon.

Exxon Mobil Corp., once run by Trump’s secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, Royal Dutch Shell, and BP are urging the administration to remain in the agreement. Meanwhile, coal mining company Cloud Peak Energy urged the administration to remain.

European countries and major corporations are pressuring President Donald Trump to remain in the Paris climate agreement despite his promises on the campaign to withdraw the United States from the Obama-era deal that never gained congressional approval.

The Trump administration so far is sticking with being undecided—at least until Trump returns to the United States from his first foreign trip, where on Friday, he’s meeting with Group of Seven ally countries, which support the agreement.

Back home, the pressure is growing from multinational corporations, even the energy sector, which have opposed stricter limitations on carbon.

Exxon Mobil Corp., once run by Trump’s secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, Royal Dutch Shell, and BP are urging the administration to remain in the agreement. Meanwhile, coal mining company Cloud Peak Energy urged the administration to remain.

“BP and Shell are European companies and it’s impossible to do business in Europe without towing the political line,” Myron Ebell, director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told The Daily Signal. He added that for oil and gas companies, “the only way to get the price of gas back up is to kill coal. The Paris Agreement kills fossil fuels, but it kills coal first.”

Ebell was part of Trump’s transition team overseeing the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute sponsored an ad showing Trump during the campaign saying, “We are going to cancel the Paris climate agreement and stop all payments of the United States tax dollars to U.N. global warming programs.”

While corporate support might seem surprising, it’s very much the same old story for large companies seeking an advantage over smaller competitors, said Katie Tubb, a policy analyst with The Heritage Foundation.

“Big business and big government often go hand-in-hand. Big businesses generally can absorb and adapt to the costs of complying with burdensome regulation, of which Paris is a wellspring,” Tubb told The Daily Signal. “Smaller companies have a much harder time complying, which means less competition for big business. This is especially true if big business can influence the substance of regulations to favor themselves or freeze out competitors. I think in other cases; these large companies are just looking for PR points.”

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry led the United States into the Paris climate change agreement, along with 170 other countries. The agreement commits member countries to shift their energy industries away from fossil fuels and toward green energy.

Two dozen major U.S. companies—including Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, the Hartford, Levi Strauss, PG&E, and Morgan Stanley—sent an open letter to Trump published in The New York Times and other newspapers across the country, urging him to remain in the deal. The letter says:

By requiring action by developed and developing countries alike, the agreement ensures a more balanced global effort, reducing the risk of competitive imbalances for U.S. companies … By expanding markets for innovative clean technologies, the agreement generates jobs and economic growth. U.S. companies are well positioned to lead in these markets.

U.S. business is best served by a stable and practical framework facilitating an effective and balanced global response. The Paris Agreement provides such a framework. As other countries invest in advanced technologies and move forward with the Paris Agreement, we believe the United States can best exercise global leadership and advance U.S. interests by remaining a full partner in this vital global effort.

Generally, larger energy companies have an advantage under the climate deal, said Fred Palmer, senior fellow for energy and climate at the Heartland Institute.

“Follow the money,” Palmer told The Daily Signal. “There are companies that want to game the system of using [carbon dioxide] as a currency to make money.”

After meetings at the Vatican earlier this week, Tillerson said, “The president indicated we’re still thinking about that, that he hasn’t made a final decision.”

Ahead of the G7 meeting, Trump chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, the director of the White House National Economic Council, told a pool reporter Friday that the president is weighing both sides.

“I think he’s leaning to understand the European position. Look, as you know from the U.S., there’s very strong views on both sides,” Cohn said. “He also knows that Paris has important meaning to many of the European leaders. And he wants to clearly hear what the European leaders have to say.”

Ebell warned that if the administration seeks to make a deal to stay in the agreement, perhaps with a lower commitment than the Obama administration pledged, then a future president could simply increase the U.S. commitment. That’s why, Ebell said, it’s best for the United States to get out.

“Obviously foreign leaders don’t care what Trump promised voters in the campaign,” Ebell said.

To be sure, many U.S. business groups oppose the Paris Agreement, such as the Industrial Energy Consumers of America—which represents manufacturers and other larger energy-using businesses—that wrote an April 24 letter to administration officials. The letter said:

We are the ones who eventually bear the costs of government imposed [greenhouse gas] reduction schemes. At the same time, we are often already economically disadvantaged, as compared to global competitors who are subsidized or protected by their governments.

Given the above concerns, IECA fails to see the benefit of the Paris Climate Accord. And, the long-term implications of the Paris Climate Accord, which includes greater future [greenhouse gas] reduction requirements, raises serious competitiveness and job implications for [energy-intensive, trade-exposed] industries.

(For more from the author of “The Possible Reasons Big Corporations Are So Eager for Trump to Break His Promise on Paris Climate Deal” please click HERE)

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Trump Signals New US Approach to China With Tough Actions

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Two developments in the past few weeks suggest that America’s China policy is on a cusp.

The more publicly discussed event involves the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Dewey, which conducted a freedom of navigation operation near Mischief Reef in the Spratlys island group.

This is the first freedom of navigation action conducted by the Trump administration. It is the first true freedom of navigation conducted since at least 2012.

By contrast, the Obama administration had undertaken a handful of “innocent passage” activities in the South China Sea, which failed to demonstrate the critical issues at stake.

The actions carried out in the previous administration were intended to argue that the U.S. did not need permission from China to enter the waters around its artificial islands—while ignoring the bigger question of whether China’s artificial islands exerted any sovereign claim to water at all.

Recommitting to Freedom of Navigation

The contrast is telling. With the Obama administration actions, there was an implicit endorsement that China’s artificial islands were, in fact, islands, because “innocent passage” involves rapid transit through the territorial waters of another nation.

Moreover, in an “innocent passage” operation, the transiting ship cannot conduct any kind of military activity, in deference to the idea that the waters being transited are not international in nature.

The Obama administration further muddied the waters by choosing features whose sovereignty was in dispute—and therefore could claim that it was not singling out Chinese-claimed features.

Even after the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that the various features in the South China Sea were not, in fact, islands and therefore could not lay claim to a 12-nautical mile territorial sea, the Obama administration nonetheless refused to reinforce the point by conducting a genuine freedom of navigation operation.

By contrast, the USS Dewey not only transited within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef, but more importantly, conducted a “man overboard” drill. Such an action would contravene an “innocent passage” exercise, but is perfectly within the scope of a “freedom of navigation” operation. Indeed, it underscores the message that Mischief Reef is not an island, and therefore does not merit a claim to exerting territorial waters.

For the first time since at least 2012, the United States is signaling Beijing that its efforts to dominate the South China Sea will not be meekly accepted, but will be challenged.

Defending Human Rights

In the same period, the family of Chinese dissident lawyer Xie Yang was successfully smuggled out of a Thai prison, where they were being held for extradition to China. Xie is one of several lawyers and human rights activists who have been arrested as Beijing has cracked down on dissent.

The decisive American action stands in contrast to the fumbling by American embassy officials in the case of Chen Guancheng. When the blind human rights lawyer sought refuge in the American embassy in May 2012, American officials were diffident about his status. Chen himself indicated in contemporary interviews that he felt pressured to leave the embassy, as American officials were unable to offer guarantees of his wife’s safety.

It remains unclear what the Trump administration’s overall strategy is for Asia. North Korea continues to push development of longer range missiles able to reach the United States.

The People’s Republic of China, despite promises by President Xi Jinping to President Donald Trump to pressure Pyongyang, has demonstrated limited impact on North Korea; Chinese statistics even suggest that trade between China and North Korea has increased.

While the administration has suggested bilateral trade deals in the region in place of U.S. membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, whether there are any takers and what exactly its new trade strategy is remains unclear.

But for one Chinese dissident’s family, the United States has demonstrated that its commitment to basic principles can take concrete form. And in the middle of the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy appears to be back in the business of defending freedom of the seas. The auguries seem to be improving. (For more from the author of “Trump Signals New US Approach to China With Tough Actions” please click HERE)

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How a WWII Veteran Grappled With the Horrors of Combat to Resume Life Back Home

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Carl Lavin was in high school when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. At 18, the Ohio native decided to join the Army. From there, his life would be forever changed, as he went on to fight as a foot soldier with the 84th Infantry Division in the Battle of the Bulge.

In a new book, “Home Front to Battlefront,” Lavin’s son, Frank, tells the story of how his father grappled with the horrors of combat during World War II to discover truth and meaning back home. Watch the video to hear his story.

(For more from the author of “How a WWII Veteran Grappled With the Horrors of Combat to Resume Life Back Home” please click HERE)

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Recent Voter Fraud Cases White House Commission Could Review

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Last week, a former Florida mayor was escorted to the Orange County Jail after a jury convicted him on a felony voter fraud charge.

Eatonville is a suburb of Orlando, where in the 2015 municipal race, former Mayor Anthony Grant lost by just 15 votes on election day, but won 196 to 69 among mail-in ballots.

State prosecutors reportedly convinced a jury that Grant and a campaign aide coerced voters on how to fill out their mail-in ballots. Grant, who had also served as mayor from 1994 to 2009, was removed from office last year after a state grand jury indictment.

This is one of many cases the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity should consider reviewing regarding voter intimidation and fraud-prone mail-in ballots, said Logan Churchwell, spokesman for the Public Interest Legal Foundation, which investigates voter fraud cases.

President Donald Trump established the commission through an executive order earlier this month. The commission’s final report will be completed by 2018, according to the White House.

Trump’s order charged the commission with studying registration and the voting process used in federal elections. It has set out to discover what laws and policies “enhance the American people’s confidence in the integrity of the voting process,” and those that “undermine the American people’s confidence.”

It’s not necessary to go back to elections from two years ago to find evidence of voting irregularities.

Nevada uncovered at least three cases of noncitizens voting in last year’s election, according to a continuing investigation by the Nevada secretary of state’s office, and at least 21 noncitizens registered at the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections announced that at least 41 noncitizens cast ballots in 2016, another 441 were felons serving an active sentence, 24 voted more than once, and two voted under names of dead family members.

Two Colorado women allegedly cast absentee ballots in someone else’s name.

Not all of the action was in battleground states.

The Dallas County, Texas, District Attorney’s Office opened an investigation into allegations of voter fraud with mail-in ballots from a mayor’s race earlier this month. Some voters said they got mail-in ballots despite never requesting them.

A Wyoming county clerk reportedly found possibly 11 felons and 16 noncitizens were registered to vote on Election Day.

Meanwhile, an Illinois woman was reportedly charged last month for allegedly voting twice.

“A cataloging effort of 2016 illegalities and irregularities would be useful, but a deeper look into underlying system flaws is also important,” Churchwell told The Daily Signal. “Our voter registration systems should be mapped to identify breakdowns that allow bad data entry and an extended lifespan thereafter because reasonable maintenance efforts are lacking.”

Vice President Mike Pence is heading the commission with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican, who is serving as the vice chairman.

Asked if the commission will be about policy recommendations to reform voting laws, or an audit of the 2016 election, White House press secretary Sean Spicer told The Daily Signal it would be both.

“The executive order that the president signed, and the vice president and Secretary of State Kobach are leading, is a bipartisan commission of state elections officials that are going to look at all aspects of election integrity, including voter fraud and proper registration, and allegations of voter suppression,” Spicer responded during a press briefing last week. “So I think they’re looking at this holistically.”

Besides Kobach, the top elections officials from the states of Indiana, New Hampshire, Maine, and a member of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission have been named to the commission so far. More announced members are pending.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which opposes voter ID laws, is investigating through the Freedom of Information Act whether any of the officials have made pre-judgements on the matter of voter fraud.

“We believe the outcome of the commission’s investigation is preordained,” Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said in a statement last week. “It’s time to shed light on whether any commission members were crafting policy recommendations before their investigation was launched or the commission was even formally announced. If they’ve got evidence, it’s time to stop hiding and start sharing.”

Churchwell said if the White House wants “a holistic approach,” then there should be more information sharing among the federal agencies, such as the Department of Justice, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sharing with state and county election officials.

“Want to know how many noncitizens are registered to vote in America today? DOJ could bounce all 50 states’ voter rolls against immigration databases and find out,” Churchwell told The Daily Signal in an email. “Want to know how you could streamline this into an ongoing process, instead of creating herculean research tasks? Pipe USCIS, CBP, and ICE data to the states in real time.”

He also said the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, better known as the motor voter law, should be updated because it was adopted at a time when noncitizens didn’t have access to voter registration through motor vehicles, social services, and other avenues.

“Outmoded procedures risk trapping unwitting noncitizens into systems that can lead to their deportation, while others can willfully register and vote regardless of consequences,” he said. (For more from the author of “Recent Voter Fraud Cases White House Commission Could Review” please click HERE)

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Sharing the Stories of Heroes This Memorial Day

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Many nations set aside days to celebrate the end of wars or major battles, and to honor those who fought in them.

Memorial Day in America is different in that it doesn’t celebrate veterans—we have a different day set aside for that. This federal holiday was designed to celebrate and honor those who have died while in uniformed service to our country in times of peace or war.

While noble in nature, the day presents a unique challenge to those of us who look for ways to show our gratitude.

Every year, my church goes long in its efforts to meet that challenge. In the heart of every Memorial Day service, our pastor asks those who have served in the military to stand, and as they do, the church body thanks them with a rousing, heartfelt round of applause.

The choir lifts the entire sanctuary with a battery of some of the most patriotic music you can imagine, and yet no matter how wonderful the veterans and congregation may feel at the end of each service, our collective efforts miss the mark.

As well intended as they are, my church isn’t alone in giving gestures that fall short.

Furniture stores and car dealerships use the occasion to offer special deals to serving military members. Pools open, and communities put on parades that feature local celebrities, marching bands, and veterans from the wars of our age.

Clans of family and friends gather in homes and parks throughout the United States to revel in the first of two holidays that frame the summer.

But almost all our Memorial Day revelry focuses on the living. There is little talk of those who gave their all, and even less about what that phrase might mean to one who has never leaned into the thought.

I guess we all need reminders.

I stumbled onto a collection of photos a few weeks ago that rekindled those thoughts in me. It was a site called the Wall of Faces. There, the names of the pictured men and women we lost in Vietnam are revealed with the move of a cursor.

As the arrow touched each picture, my mind raced to calculate the time that separated their birth and casualty dates. Some were a bit older and Vietnam was at least their second war, but the majority were under 20 when they died.

That’s when the second piece of math hit me.

In the 37 years beyond my 20th birthday, I met and married the woman I had been searching for my entire life.

I was there to welcome our two sons into this world, and I’ve been right by their side to celebrate those birthdays for all but a fraction of their years.

Somewhere along the way, I managed to climb into the dream I dreamed of as a child and, while the highs I’ve enjoyed as a man have been immeasurable, they don’t quite measure up to my all.

I’ve been given time enough to be a loving partner in life for my wife, and a doting father, shepherd, and coach for my two sons.

When I think about all that I’ve been given, I begin to get a sense of what others gave up when they gave us their lives.

Two men died of exposure during Gen. George Washington’s march on Trenton in the winter of 1776. Just over a year ago, 12 Marines were killed during a training mishap off the coast of Hawaii. And on Jan. 29 of this year, a Navy SEAL fell to enemy fire in Yemen.

Like those we’ve lost in every other conflict, incursion, or mishap, their stories run the gamut. Some were immortalized as heroes, and others have faded into near anonymity, save for the memories they left with the living.

In the course of my years in the service, I received the contagious laughter, the loves, and aspirations of 11 different men who laid down their lives. While each willingly gave up everything for this nation of ours, our gratitude is what will carry them forward in memory.

When you wake up Monday morning, take a moment to do your own math, then lean into your family and friends with a story about one of our Memorial Day heroes.

And when you hit your knees Monday night, say a prayer for those who long for the company, the loving touch of one who gave his or her all for you and me. (For more from the author of “Sharing the Stories of Heroes This Memorial Day” please click HERE)

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Did Trump Threaten to Stop German Car Imports?

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President Trump took his characteristically tough talk on trade to Brussels, complaining “bitterly,” according to Spiegel, about the country of Germany’s trade surplus with America.

“The Germans are bad, very bad,” Trump said of Germany’s trade policies.

“Look at the millions of cars they sell in the U.S. It’s horrible. And we’ll stop that,” the president said.

President Trump was in Brussels Thursday, speaking at NATO’s headquarters and chastising other NATO allies for not paying their “fair share” of the organization’s budget.

His comments on German trade policy came during a meeting with European Union officials, Spiegel reported.

German-manufactured cars sold in the U.S. include Audi, BMW, Ford-Werke GmbH, Mercedes-Benz, Opel, Porshe, Volkswagen, and A-C.

Impeding German car imports through tariffs would raise the price of these very popular car brands on American consumers. (For more from the author of “Did Trump Threaten to Stop German Car Imports?” please click HERE)

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Promoting Islam in Our Schools

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Memorizing the Islamic conversion prayer. Reciting the Five Pillars of Islam. Affirming that Christians are not as strong in their faith as Muslims. Several school districts across the nation are requiring their students to study Islam. And parents aren’t happy about it.

A 1963 Supreme Court decision allows for historical instruction about religions. But it seems that Islam is the only religion that is okay to promote. Some parents believe the Islamic teaching has gone too far. And now there’s a lawsuit.

The Court Opens the Door

The Supreme Court in Abington v. Schempp ruled that organized religious events violated the First Amendment. Schools could not require Bible reading or praying in class. But they could offer courses on the Bible or religion as a secular subject. The Court said that “education is not complete without a study of comparative religion or the history of religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization.”

Those who know Abington know it as the case that kicked Bible reading out of public education. But it left the door open for a historical study of the Christianity — or any other religion. Now the study of Islam is making its way into the school systems nationwide.

Islamic teaching in public schools has alarmed several parents. They believe it has crossed the line from a historical study to indoctrination. They believe that school districts are promoting Islam over other religions.

The Problem with Teaching Islam

A La Plata, California, High School parent brought a lawsuit against the school. John Kevin Wood and his wife said that his daughter’s school required her to complete assignments that endorsed Islam.

The school required her to affirm that “Most Muslims’ faith is stronger than the average Christian.” The school required all students to recite the Islamic conversion prayer. The prayer, called the Shahada, states that “There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet.” The school also required students to profess the Five Pillars of Islam.

Wood said his daughter’s school forced her to write statements that offended and denied her Christian beliefs. When she refused to complete the assignments, she received failing grades. Her teacher sent her to the school library away from her classmates. As a result, she felt ostracized because of her Christian beliefs.

Wood contacted the school and asked for alternative assignments. The school’s principal refused. Wood informed the principal that he would contact an attorney and the media. The school then reportedly responded by obtaining a restraining order against Wood. He could no longer pick up his daughter on school property or attend parent-teacher meetings.

La Plata High School did not teach Christianity the same way as Islam, according to Wood. Christianity was taught for one day—disparagingly. Islam was taught for two weeks—sympathetically. The lesson did not require students to learn any of Christianity’s tenets, faith statements or creeds. Nor were the students required to learn any of Judaism’s.

It Happens in Other Schools Too

It happens in other schools, too. Parents across the country have complained that their child’s school required them to:

Dress up as a Muslim, learn prayers and scriptures from the Quran;

Memorize the Five Pillars of Islam and listen to a Muslim prayer;

Memorize and recite the Shahada, or the conversion prayer; and

Write the Shahada in Arabic as part of a calligraphy lesson.

Parents of students at several schools complain that teachers do not teach non-Muslim religions. And that is the crux of the issue for many parents.

The Ten Commandments would never be a lesson requirement, said one New Jersey mom. “If Islam is taught, teach Christianity, too. [My son] couldn’t even put a Bible verse in his presentation that was student-initiated. So they’re not only teaching Islam, but they’re not allowing students to be free in expressing their [Christian] religious beliefs.”

Many school districts indoctrinate students in Islam, said Thomas More Law Center President Richard Thompson. “This is happening in public schools across the country. And [parents] must take action to stop it.”

The First Amendment’s Establishment Clause

The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from establishing a religion. The Supreme Court decided in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) that a three-part test would govern what constitutes “establishment of a religion.” Under the “Lemon test,” government can make laws or policy about religion if the reason for the law is secular, it neither promotes nor inhibits religion, and it doesn’t excessively entangle church and state.

Teaching about Islam in schools may not seem at first glance to be a problem. But the law is clear that the government may not adhere to, promote or inhibit a particular religion. This includes public school districts. Teaching Islam as a secular subject along with other religions equally is lawful. When the teaching of Islam promotes the religion above others, that is against the law. This is found in the Establishment Clause of our First Amendment.

The First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University stated these lessons can go too far. In particular, some “hands-on” activities border on unconstitutional endorsement of religion. They added, “Would any of these schools dream of acting out the Catholic Mass or inviting a Protestant minister to give a sermon in the gym?”

Even if school districts have good intentions, they can still cross the line, the Center noted. “However well-intentioned, including religions and cultures by violating the Constitution doesn’t help anyone. … All of us have an important stake in making sure that First Amendment principles are applied fairly and justly to each and every individual and group in the United States.” (For more from the author of “Promoting Islam in Our Schools” please click HERE)

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Ben & Jerry’s Proves Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Is Not Marriage

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It certainly wasn’t their intent, but Ben and Jerry’s, the famous, specialty ice cream company, has given us further evidence that same-sex “marriage” is not marriage. How so?

The company, which has long been known for its left-wing activism, went one step further this week. As a headline in the Daily Mail announced, “Ben & Jerry’s BAN customers from ordering two scoops of the same ice cream until Australia legalises gay marriage.”

That’s right. If you want two scoops of New York Super Fudge Chocolate on your ice cream cone, you can’t have it. You’ll have to settle for just one scoop or mix in another flavor.

This is Ben and Jerry’s way of sending a message: “We believe love comes in all flavours.”

As they explained on their website: “Imagine heading down to your local Scoop Shop to order your favourite two scoops of Cookie Dough in a waffle cone,” the company wrote on its website.

But you find out you are not allowed … you’d be furious!

This doesn’t even begin to compare to how furious you would be if you were told you were not allowed to marry the person you love.

So we are banning two scoops of the same flavour and encouraging our fans to contact their MPs to tell them that the time has come make same sex marriage legal! Love comes in all flavours!
Regulating Scoops is a Slippery Slope

You might say, “Well, this sounds somewhat stupid, but how does it prove that same-sex marriage is not marriage?”

I’ll explain in a moment. But first, Ben and Jerry’s should realize they’re heading down a slippery slope.

After all, will they ban three-scoop cones of any flavor until Australia legalizes throuples? And will they ban one scoop of one flavor plus two scoops of another flavor until Australia legalizes polygamy? Hey, love is love, right? And if I have the right to marry the one I love, how about the ones I love? Why not?

The absurdities go on and on.

As my assistant Dylan asked after reading the Daily Mail article,

And perhaps there’s a current loophole (and bigotry) to their current position. What if some chocolate ice cream identifies as vanilla? (I mean, who are they to be so primitive as to label all chocolate ice cream chocolate just because that’s what society has done through the ages.) Can you then go ahead and get a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of trans-flavored (chocolate to vanilla) ice cream?

In all seriousness, I understand that Ben and Jerry’s is not comparing human beings to scoops of ice cream. The company is making a point and showing solidarity. They believe they are standing up for justice and equality. I get all that.

Still, the nature of their protest is self-refuting, demonstrating the point that same-sex “marriage” is not marriage at all.

Let me explain.

Mars + Mars

Let’s say that chocolate represents men and vanilla represents women. You take one scoop of chocolate and one scoop of vanilla and what do you get? Something new. Something distinct. A unique blend of the two flavors. Two entities that are different and yet similar now become one.

That is a picture of marriage, which is the unique blend of male and female, the unique union of two different and yet similar entities. Borrowing imagery from John Gray, marriage is the union of Mars + Venus.

Going back to ice cream, what happens if you get two scoops of chocolate or two scoops of vanilla? What do you end up with? More of the same. The same multiplied. No change in color or flavor. Nothing new created out of the union. You simply have Mars + Mars or Venus + Venus, which does not equal Mars + Venus.

Do you see the point?

I’m sure gay couples will say that their union brings together very different parts and make them into one new, harmonious whole. But marriage is more than that (otherwise every friendship would be a marriage of sorts).

Marriage has always served the purpose of bringing together the uniquely different-but-same entities of male and female. Through the two of them becoming one, a new entity is created: a paired couple. And by design, that paired couple, biologically made for one another, can produce brand new life.

No same-sex couple in the world, however loving or committed they may be, can produce new life in this way. Nor can any same-sex couple demonstrate the fullness of marriage because it is missing the essential components of marriage: Not just two people, but one male and one female.

Quite unintentionally, Ben and Jerry’s has just reminded us of this reality. And while I do appreciate their zeal for cultural causes, maybe they should turn their attention to other pressing issues, like the health risks of obesity.

On second thought, they might not want to tackle that one at all. (For more from the author of “Ben & Jerry’s Proves Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Is Not Marriage” please click HERE)

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