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May 16, 2008
Archive for May, 2008
The Washington Flyer
Washington, DC
May 16, 2008
An Exercise in Judicial Activism: Yesterday, the California Supreme Court ruled 4 to 3 to overturn the state’s ban on “same-sex marriage,” setting up California as the second state (after Massachusetts) to permit same-sex couples to “marry.” The ban was the product of a voter initiative law passed in 2000 that defined marriage as the union of one man with one woman.
Karen England of the California-based Capitol Resource Institute stated, “We now must focus our energy on passing the Protect Marriage Initiative and place traditional marriage in the state constitution. This outrageous decision will electrify voters and we are certain they will once again choose to protect traditional marriage.”
According to the Associated Press, the California Secretary of State will likely decide by June whether to recognize the signatures collected to place the Protect Marriage Initiative on the November ballot. Twenty-six other states have already passed marriage amendments to their state constitutions through similar processes.
“We live in an increasingly troubled nation struggling to meet the challenges of economic decline, numerous natural disasters, and civic irresponsibility. But even greater than these important issues is the attack on traditional marriage, which I believe to be the seminal concern of our times,” commented Dr. Keith Wiebe, President of the American Association of Christian Schools.
Dr. Wiebe continued, “No other institution is as essential to the well-being of our families, and churches, and schools—and ultimately society—as marriage. This decision is no surprise. Christians must heed the extended wakeup call and fight for the sanctity of marriage against the immoral activism of judges more concerned with interpreting the Constitution than actually applying it.”
Legislating for Hope in Georgia: On Wednesday, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed a $50 million tax credit program into state law. Supporters of the Corporate and Individual Scholarship Tax Credit are ecstatic and believe this program will provide hope to thousands of Georgia students.
Specifically, the new law allows corporations to contribute to educational scholarship organizations (for students to attend private schools) and to receive a 100 percent tax credit for the donations up to 75 percent of the company’s tax liability.
Individuals can also donate to the scholarship organizations and receive a tax credit up to a $1000 donation per person and $2500 per married couple. The scholarship organizations must devote at least 90 percent of their donations to actual scholarships.
“With his actions today, Governor Perdue has sealed his legacy as one of America’s foremost ‘education governors,’” said Lori Drummer, director of state projects for the Alliance for School Choice. “Georgia is now a national leader in a school choice movement that is gaining momentum.”
“Georgia will now join five other states—Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island—in offering scholarship tax credit programs,” said Alliance President Charles Hokanson. “Georgia’s program will be the second largest in the country, following Florida’s $88 million program, and just ahead of Pennsylvania’s, which is capped at $44.6 million. Including the new Georgia law, there are seven scholarship tax-credit programs operating in the United States and 10 voucher programs.”
Restoring Full Freedom of Speech to Pastors: The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is concerned about the freedom of pastors to speak freely regarding the impact of biblical teaching on the political understanding of their parishioners.
“Until about 1954, churches were free to endorse or oppose particular candidates from the pulpit—and, in fact, churches did that,” contended Erik Stanley with ADF. Stanley continued, “Some pastors opposed Thomas Jefferson as being a deist. Other pastors opposed William Howard Taft as a Unitarian. Some pastors opposed Al Smith in the 1928 presidential election—and the list goes on and on.”
In 1954, at the instigation of then Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, Congress passed a bill amending the IRS code to prevent 501(c) (3) organizations (including churches) from engaging in political activity.
Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC) introduced a bill on May 10, 2007 that would amend the IRS code by repealing the 1954 Johnson Amendment, allowing ministers to speak freely regarding a political candidate’s views that are contrary to the teachings of their faith.
ADF told OneNewsNow.com that they are hoping to provoke a confrontation with the IRS. They are asking pastors “to preach a biblically based sermon evaluating the candidates for office on September 28 of this year.” Stanley stated the purpose of Pulpit Freedom Sunday is “to reestablish the freedom of the pulpit.” He argued, “This is not a political project; this is a core religious project.”
ADF believes that by forcing the IRS to investigate what they hope will be hundreds of cases, the court will agree to hear a complaint brought by ADF. Stanley concluded, “We want the IRS to get out of the pulpit and return that to the hands of the pastors where it belongs. It is the pastor’s job to determine the sermon not the IRS.”
May 16, 2008
K-5 Ice Cream Party Tomorrow
The K-5 class was the winner of our SSCS Night contest on April 30. Their reward will be a free ice cream party tomorrow (Friday, May 16) at school. Students will still need to bring in their own lunch and snacks.
May 15, 2008
Tomorrow is International Day
International Day is your opportunity to pretend as if you were living in a different part of the world. Students may come in dressed in the attire of a foreign nation.
All parents, friends and relatives are welcome to attend our 10:30am chapel with Church-Planter Tim Lewis. Brother Lewis will also be giving a historical presentation about Evangelist George Whitefield at 1:00pm for all of those who would like to come.
Please remember that for each spirit day basic school dress codes still apply. Girls may not wear pants or capris. All skirts must reach the knee. Boys may not wear shorts. All shirts must have sleeves. Jeans (boys), jean skirts (girls), and sneakers are allowed.
May 13, 2008
Tomorrow is Western Day
On Western Day we take a trip out to the Old West, back to the days of Cowboys and Indians! Dress up just as if you were back in those days wrangling cattle or riding horses! Please do NOT bring any toy guns to school.
All parents, friends and relatives are welcome to attend our 10:30am chapel is with Pastor James Wilkes of New England Baptist Church.
Please remember that for each spirit day basic school dress codes still apply. Girls may not wear pants or capris. All skirts must reach the knee. Boys may not wear shorts. All shirts must have sleeves. Jeans (boys), jean skirts (girls), and sneakers are allowed on these days.
May 12, 2008
The Meanest Mother in the World
From an e-mail:
We had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different than other kids had too.
Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You’d think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.
We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the “Child Labor Laws” but making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lay awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.
She always insisted on us telling the truth the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds, and life was really tough.
She wouldn’t let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.
Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other’s property, or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault. We never got drunk, took up smoking, stayed out all night, or a million other things other kids did.
Sundays were reserved for church, and we never missed once. We knew better than to ask to spend the night with a friend on Saturdays.
Now that we have left home, we are all God-fearing, educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like our mom was.
The world just doesn’t have enough mean moms anymore!
May 11, 2008
