Doping Our Kids Ain't Right

Besides being the site of horrific killings of students and staff by students, what do Columbine and Red Lake have in common? In both cases, the shooters were using antidepressant drugs.

The practice of stuffing our young full of powerful drugs to treat behaviour problems is becoming widespread and should - no MUST - alarm every parent with a child in a public school. At a time in their lives were they are forming their own moral and ethical beliefs, our kids are being pumped full of dangerous drugs simply because they do not conform to some adults pattern or because they are perceived of as being unmanageable.

The teen years have always been a time when kids explore new thoughts and ideas and, sometimes, stray from the path we would like to see them follow. This is a normal part of growing up. It is not something that should be dealt with by the use of powerful mind control drugs. It is a time where the adults in a child's life must make the time it takes to understand what their kids are going through and provide them with support and guidance, not drugs to control the kids actions.

The spreading practice of doping up kids is just one part of an even more alarming trend, the insertion of the government, NGOs and teachers unions in the raising of our babies. One can not help but wonder why there are not legions of parents and conservative activists raising holy hell and demanding a stop to these practices. Fortunately, there are a few who are fighting the fight on our behalf but they can not do it all nor should they have to.

We here at Defenders, both the web site and the blog, have decided that it is time that we put our money where our mouth is. We are offering our support to folks fighting to protect our families from the oppression and control of the government and various non-governmental organizations. We will also be adding links resources and information in our Stack. Keeping watching the site and blog for further information.

Who's Kids Are They?

It never ceases to amaze me that we look to the same institutions that have repeatedly managed to screw up anything they touch to be responsible for raising and educating our children. Here in Minnesota, as well as in the rest of America, we see the government passing more and more laws controlling how our children are educated and even how they are socialized in their pre-kindergarten years.

Correct me if I am wrong, but our parents and grandparents somehow managed to raise their children without the help of a plethora of expensive taxpayer, (that's all of us folks), funded government programs. But now it seems as the current generation of parents are no longer considered capable of raising their own children. Worse yet, many of these parents are in the forefront demanding taxpayer funded government programs to help them do the job they should be doing themselves.

The basics of child rearing have very little to do with your financial situation. It does not cost a parent a singe darned dime to read to their young child or to help them to learn the basic ABCs. It costs nothing to play a game of catch, attend church together, or even just talk. So how is it that we have come to the point where we are passing expensive taxpayer funded government programs to help prepare our own children for kindergarten?

I believe that part of the problem is the growing number of children having children. These young parents obviously are not prepared to raise children if they are not able to do something as simple as avoiding getting pregnant. Rather than demanding that the families of these child-parents take responsibilities for their own blood, we instead choose to turn to the government to help. Frankly folks, it is not the job of the government to tend to and raise our offspring.

Another portion of the problem is the busy, materialistic parents who look at their children much the same as they do their cars and houses: status symbols and tax deductions. Rather then take time away from their headlong rush to material gain to spend with their kids, these parents are all too eager to dump the responsibility on the rest of the community (that would be the rest of us folks).

Our children are a gift from God. They are not objects needed to achieve social status nor are they objects to be mishandled by child-parents. Most of all they are OUR children and not the governments. It is OUR responsibility to raise our children, to prepare them for school and life, to teach them right from wrong as we believe it should be. They are OUR future. Do you really want OUR future being taught by government hacks and teacher's unions?

Doing the Fed's Job For Them

You might not believe it when you look, but there really are only a few specific jobs assigned to the federal government by our Founders. One of the assigned tasks is to protect our nation and our borders from those that would do us harm or that might be trying to enter this country illegally. To say that the government is failing miserably on this task is to understate the situation.

Before going much further, it is important to know that it is not the brave men and women of the Border Patrol units that are failing. They are significantly understaffed and grossly under funded. Rather than providing the resources necessary to properly protect our borders, the Congressional Clowns have chosen instead to lavish billions of dollars on pork barrel projects intended to assure their re-election. Compounding the failure is President Bush who continues to not only protect illegal criminal aliens currently in country, but to make it easier for even more to violate our borders.

When the federal government refuses to properly do it's duty, it is up to the individual states to take care of the job. It is to the everlasting credit of the government of the state of Arizona and her citizens that they have started to address this runaway problem with tougher legislation. As expected, these efforts are meeting with resistance from various quarters, including the multitude of Latino activists groups that have sprung up in the southwest. Their latest attempt to have Arizona back down is to call for a boycott against Arizona and the businesses located in that state [Read more]. It is surely only a matter of time until the Congressional Clowns attempt to placate the troublemakers and water down Arizona's attempt to do the job that Congress is supposed to be doing.

We are tired of Congress fiddling around and doing nothing. We applaud the people of Arizona and we are calling upon those that agree that the flow of illegal criminal aliens must be stopped to support the citizens and businesses of Arizona. This problem is nothing less than a disease that must be cured and we the people will have to provide the cure without the help of our duly elected President and Congress.

(c)2005 d-o-f-t.com

Congressional Shame Knows No Limits

In an extraordinary effort, The Federal Congress has passed and President Bush has signed the so-called "Schiavo Law". This measure says that the parents of Terry Schiavo can go to federal court to argue that removing the feeding tube from Terry violates her rights under the U. S. Constitution. Supporters of this measure hope that a federal court will issue a temporary order restoring her feeding tube while the case is heard in federal court.

Before going any further, let me state that our prayers go out to Terry and her family. For 15 years, they have have struggled with Terry's condition and amongst themselves over Terry would want to continue life in a persistent vegetative state. We do not doubt for a moment the sincerity of her husband and family as they struggle to do what they believe to be right for Terry. We pray that their decisions will be guided by God's Wisdom.

We do not give the same credit for sincerity to the politicians and others seeking to use this woman's condition and the suffering of her family to further their personal agenda's.

For seven years, this case has been through one court after another. Squadrons of medical personnel have reviewed and tested Terry to try and determine the true nature of her condition and prospects for ever recovering. I doubt that anyone has an accurate count of the money and time spent to try and determine what is the right and legal actions to take. Without rehashing the entire case, the end result of this process was a decision that her feeding tube could be removed. This was done by the letter of the law and medical ethics. In other words, the rules that we agree to live by were followed. However, once the process was complete, Congress decided that it needed to get involved in a state issue. We can not help but wonder why?

Stripping the emotionalism away, the actions of Congress amount to nothing less than the Congressional Clowns overstepping the limits of their power and inserting the federal government even further into the lives of private citizens. The Congressional Republicans and President, rumored to be conservatives and in favor of a smaller federal government, have once again stabbed true conservatives in the back. We can not help but wonder why?

Tom Delay has been a vocal leader in the move to pass "Terry's" law. Is it a coincidence that DeLay is also under heavy pressure over questionable political practices in Texas and needed to deflect attention from his own problems? Is it any coincidence that opinion polls show Congressional ratings nearing record lows? In another display of hypocrisy, many of members of Congress who voted for "Terry's" law are also strong supporters of abortion - it is okay to kill over 40 million babies but we have to insert the federal government into this case to save one life. Is there anyone who doubts that Congress is acting upon purely political motivations and trying to gains some public relations points?

This Congress has now established a very dangerous precedent. How are they going to say "no" the next time an issue like this surfaces? For the record, many families make this decision daily. Unlike Congress, they seek out the advice of medical professionals who have in-person experience with their case. The argue over it. They litigate over it. Some pray and ask for wisdom. And all without the intervention of Big Brother and the Congressional Clowns.

As deep as the shame that should rightfully be heaped upon Congress, an equal share should be assigned to the so-called conservatives and small government supporters who support the intrusion in the private lives of private American citizens. To all of you so-called social conservatives (whatever the heck that means), shame on you. You can not have it both ways. You accuse the left of allowing emotions to override emotions and now you are doing the same thing. You run into a tough emotional issue and immediately throw away the values that you claim to believe in.

We do not pretend to be doctors or lawyers but we do understand that we are a nation of laws and that only by following those laws will we continue to be a republic. We can clearly see career politicians jumping on a bandwagon. We can clearly see various groups using a deeply private issue to further their own agendas. We can clearly see the weaknesses in the professed beliefs of social conservatives. We can clearly see when something is wrong and folks, "Terry's" law is wrong.

God does not make mistakes. We will live precisely as long God ordains for us and no act of Congress will ever be able to change that. We strongly urge the federal courts to reaffirm the legitimacy of the states rights and the current process. We also strongly urge the Congressional Clowns to quit screwing around and get back the business that they are paid to deal with.

(c)2005 d-o-t-f.com

Congress takes on Big Steroids

Just about the time that you think our elected officials have tried every way possible of wasting time, sucking up publicity and avoiding doing anything substantial, the Congressional Clowns come up with something new. For instance, now they are spending our money and taking time away for the job we elected them to do in order to investigate steroid use amongst baseball players.

The Government Reform Committee headed by Tom Davis, R-Va. has issued subpoenas by the sack full and demands for documents to keep a small army of law clerks busy for weeks. The might and power of Congress is poised to attack the forces of evil and anarchy by taking on Big Steroids. We can all sleep better this evening.

Our borders are a sieve through which anyone can walk through without a care in the world. Our tax system has become a monster that exists only to confiscate the earnings of working folks. Our military is spread thin fighting the terrorists who killed over 3,000 of us 9/11. And Congress is worried about steroid use in major league baseball.

Yes folks, all is right in the world, our Congressional Clowns have the circus running at full speed and are busily discovering new ways to waste our tax dollars.

Sleep well knowing that you are being protected against the evils of Big Steroids.

Clowns In A Business Suit

Without a doubt, the U.S. Congress is the greatest example of an organization that has become so large and so split along political lines that it can no longer do it's job. Of the two houses, the Senate, a collection of 100 clowns in business suits, is the worst.

It does not seem to matter who is holding the majority of the votes, these clowns can not agree to anything and specialize in putting off decisions until everyone forgets what they were talking about.

Case in point: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee deadlocked on a 9-9 vote on Bush's "clear skies" bill. Regardless of which side of the issue you favor, the point here is the "deadlock" and the comments of Democrats like Max Baucus of Montana: He suggested starting from scratch for a compromise later this year, since "sometimes things have to be torn apart before they can be put back together again."

Is it any wonder that we have a government that is deadlocked with such weak willed leaders as Max Baucus?

Read more.

(c)2005 d-o-t-f.com

Silly Season Continues: Now It's "Kids First"

When politicians are looking for money or trying to cover up the fact that they are unable to get anything serious done or are trying to coverup their own actions, there are certain tried and true bromides that can be trotted out to create a smoke screen. None has been more effective in recent years than "It's For The Kids". No matter what it is, simply attach "For The Kids" to it and you've got instant mainstream media coverage and an outpouring of emotional support. Once the "For The Kids" banner is run up the flagpole, any who question the logic are quickly branded as hate mongers or child haters.

For the good of The Kids, we're going to raise your taxes to pay teachers more money. We're going to take away your parental rights for the good of The Kids. We're not going to let you have a gun in your own house for the good of The Kids.

Never one to walk away from free publicity and stacks of cash donations, Presidential wannabe John Kerry has taken the lead in the U.S. Senate with his Kids First initiative, complete with mass emails, a Kids First phone line and Congressional hearings. Heck, if you took anything Kerry said seriously, you'd think our children were being worked in slave labor 16 hours a day and no parent was capable of caring for their own children.

And what is Senator Kerry's great plan for "The Kids"? Stripping away all of the politically correct rhetoric and emotional loaded weasel words, it comes down to increase the government's control of our family lives. Kerry and his supporters would have us believe that the same bureaucracy that brought us the IRS, bloated budgets, failed social experiments, gun control, Waco, as well as a horrendously long list of other failures, is in the best position to tell us how to raise our children and care for our children. Needless to say, this also means that we have to pay more taxes for the privilege of having bureaucrats tell us what to do.

It is hardly surprising that something like this would pop up from Washington DC. What is surprising is that so many fall for this garbage and never question the wisdom or logic of anything as long as it is "For The Kids".

Random Ramblings: Taxes, Budgets and other silliness

Now that President Bush has published his proposed budget, the finger pointing, whining, and jockeying will commence in full force. From one side of the fence, we will hear that the budget doesn't do enough to cut government spending. For the most part, these voices will be drowned out by the anguished screams of those who rely upon a subsidy or handout from the government.

Before the excrement starts to flow so heavily that any voice of reason or common sense is thoroughly obscured, let's get a few things perfectly clear.

First and foremost, no level of government has their own money. State politicians that tell you the solution to holding down state taxes is to receive more 'federal' money, do not tell you that 'federal' money is collected as taxes and fees from you (and others). Anyone who thinks that the Fed has some secret source of non-tax dollars or that Fed officials can simple print more money to cover expenses really does need to go back to school and pay attention this time.

It is not the government's money: It is your money. It was collected from you via taxes and if the government spends too much, the results are either a budget shortfall or higher taxes. Let's all say this together: "It is our money!"

Regardless of how many pages of budget proposals presented by the President, the simple fact is that only Congress can enact the laws needed to enact the budget. In other words, all spending is done with the approval of Congress. All of the politicians talking about government waste or whining about cuts to welfare programs are the very same folks who vote the laws in that enact the budget.

Almost all cuts proposed in a government budget are not cuts in actual spending but are simply increases that ar not as large as someone wants. Instead of a 10% increase in funding for Public Broadcasting, the budget calls for a 5% increase: this is what the politicians call a spending cut.

Politicians love to come across as great supporters of various programs such as "No Child Left Behind". They think that supporting an education program will win them the votes of parents with kids stuck in public schools. However, these same cowards know that being on the record as having supported a tax increase is not good for job security, so they pass 'unfunded mandates'. These are Federal laws mandating certain expenditures but without any Federal funding. In other words, the fed politicians pass the bill, tell you how wonderful they are and dump the problem of how to pay for the bill to the next lower level of government, the state. Not to be outdone by their peers at the Fed level, the state politicians work just as hard to look pretty and pass the dirty work on to the local governments.

Okay, now that we have a few of the basics defined, let Budget Battle 2005 begin. Just keep saying to yourself and to your elected officials: "It is our money!"

How Much Is Enough?

Imagine having a debt that you could never pay off, that not only never went away but got larger every year regardless of the amount of money that you spent trying to pay it off. Imagine that the increases to the overall bill did not come from your purchases but because someone decided that you needed to pay more. Imagine having no recourse, no one that you can complain to, no court that will allow you to take action against those increasing your bill. This, my friends, is the state of education funding today: a vast sink hole that no matter how much money we dump into it, only gets deeper.

There comes a point where we taxpayers have to actually use our brains and not our emotions. We need to realize that asking if we are getting what we are paying for in education does not mean that we are anti-children or that we want the nation to produce nothing but brain dead mush heads. We have a right to have a full and honest disclosure of where the money is going and what any future funding is going to provide. We have a right to ask "when will enough be enough?"

A good place to start is to look at the teacher's unions. Face the fact that the unions are not primarily concerned about the education of the children; their main reason for existence to look out for the best interests of the teachers. That is what unions do. It is the same as the auto workers union, Teamsters union, government employee unions and construction unions. What gives the various teacher's unions such sway is that they know how to play to the emotions of parents by convincing them that tax increases are for the good of the children while the lion's share goes to the members of the teacher's unions.

Teachers are important people. In some cases, they spend more time with the kids then some parents. They are professionals doing a job for which they are paid fairly, especially considering that they work nine to ten months a year. That they work with our children is no reason to place teachers on a pedestal and not question their motives or the quality of their work. We need to remember that they are employees not demigods and that they should be held responsible for work efforts. And if cuts are needed to stay within a fiscally responsible budget, they should be expected to share in the cuts, including compensation.

The current system for funding public education does not provide any incentive for efficiency or improvement. The current system simply confiscates more money from taxpayers. When asked what we taxpayers are getting for the money, the only answer is to say "it is for the children".

What the children deserve is not the current overpriced, union controlled education system that best serves the objectives of teachers, administrators and politicians pandering for votes. For the money that we pay, our kids should be the best educated rugrats in the world, but they aren't. Until we wake up and realize the "it's for the children" really means "it's for the teacher's unions", this system will continue to crumble under it's own weight.