King Middle School Sets New Standard For Immoral--and illegal--Public School Conduct

There's dumb and there's dumber. When talking about public education the first comes to mind; when talking about public education in Maine, it's the second! Don't know if you heard what the geniuses are proposing at King Middle School in Portland. Let me remind you Middle school is for children ages 11-13.

From the article in the Portland Press Herald, "Students who have parental permission to be treated at King Middle School's health center would be able to get birth control prescriptions…"

Now before you say, "Well, after all they do have to have parental permission…" Now consider the rest.

The Press Herald reports, "Although students must have written parental permission to be treated at Portland's school-based health centers, state law allows them to seek confidential health care and to decide whether to inform their parents about the services they receive…"

If I were a sane person I would be dumbstruck with muting apoplexy at such a proposal but I have lived in this warped state for too long to be surprised. Do you like the thought of your 11 year old sauntering in to the nurses' office and asking for a prescription drug from a bimbo with the title nurse behind her name and expecting that she will be an expert in pharmacology insuring your 11 year old can even safely take the drug? And since birth control is still a prescription drug, how can a nurse dispense it anyway?

This is a new step lower into the pit of depravity and even if it gets shot down, the fact that it is even considered speaks volumes about those to whom we are entrusting our little ones.

Moral outrage will do nothing; we have seen how impervious our state's leaders are to any sense of a moral imperative. So what it will take is one whopping lawsuit from a parent whose little girl has been injured or killed from this lunacy. Money is all this world understands so we'll just have to hit them where they still have a shred of sensitivity.

Ah yes, Maine, the way life should be." In hell perhaps but not in paradise.

King Middle School (part 2)

Even if you haven't heard my previous commentary about King Middle School in Portland you know by now that the geniuses of the school board approved the proposal allowing the dissemination of contraceptives (which includes prescription drugs) to children as young as 11 years old. Contrary to misleading reports, parental permission is not required as long as the child has parental permission to use the school health facilities at all.

Well, Maine is in the national limelight yet again and we are the laughing stock to what is left of the saner parts of the country.

In a moment of quasi-sanity, a proposal was submitted that would allow parents to opt their children out of the contraception aspect of the health program. But even this is fraught with legal issues.

So how is it that this school board can determine to disseminate contraception to under- aged children who they would knowingly be enabling to commit a crime?

In Maine, it is statutory rape for a child under the age of 14 to have sex--period. If the school knows which children are sexually active--which is against the law--they would be accessories to a crime by providing contraception not to mention failing to inform authorities of such criminal sexual activity. In fact, the school--as parentis-in-locus--as they pride themselves on reminding us, should be prosecuted for sexual abuse.

But the proposal would only allow contraception to be given to 14 year olds because we all know that someone who has lived that long is certainly "ready" for sex.

Getting a grip here, it is not normal for a child so young to be sexually active. This means that if they are, their environment--namely their homes and their schools--should be investigated for the type of "education," "recreation," and "entertainment" to which they are being subjected.

Sexually active children so young is indicative of an abusive (even if passive abuse) situation.

This is merely the tip of a very warped iceberg. That we even have laws on the books that protect the privacy of a child 11 years old enabling them to acquire prescription drugs or condoms without parental consent or notification shows how depraved the leaders of this perverse state really are. May God help us.

The World Has Nothing To Fear From Christians; The Same Cannot Be Said of Islam

I saw a story last week that caught my attention. The headline read, "The 'survival of the world' is at stake if Muslims and Christians do not make peace with each other, leaders of the Muslim world will warn the Pope and other Christian leaders today."

The story continued, "As Muslims, we say to Christians that we are not against them and that Islam is not against them - so long as they do not wage war against Muslims on account of their religion, oppress them and drive them out of their homes.'"

Someone is either utterly ignorant of Islamic history and current events or are utterly disingenuous. I am rip snorting offended by their statement for it implies that WE are the problem and if WE just dropped our Christian bigotry and hatred that we could all get along.

Let me make this clear. I am reading the Koran currently and while I am only about a third of the way through it, (I'm on pg. 145) you can hardly read more than a couple pages without reading about the "infidels," which the Koran repeatedly delineates as Christians and Jews and that WE infidels have no place with God and in fact are enemies of God and consequently are enemies of Muslims.

So let's have a reality check here. First of all, Muslims are historically the aggressors--just review Jewish history and let us remember who blew up our embassy, our world trade center, our naval ship and our twin towers, all unprovoked.

And let us not fail to remember that Christians are not their only targets. Terrorism against many other religions is common place and genocide amongst the various sects of Islam has been a long standing tragedy. Remember that just about every country on the globe has been the recipient of Muslim terror. So much for Christians oppressing them and driving them from their homes.

The unprecedented open letter has been signed by 138 leading scholars from every sect of Islam, and pleads with Christian leaders "to come together with us on the common essentials of our two religions" and spell out the similarities between passages of the Bible and the Koran.

Muslims have nothing to fear from Christians. The same cannot be said of Christians and Muslims.

And if someone wants to bring up the canard of the Crusades, remember that the Crusades were clearly not Biblically endorsed." One cannot make the same claim about Islamic Jihad and the Koran.

Limbaugh Flap Shows Who Needs To Apologize

Okay sports fans, last week talking about Mahmoud Ahmidinejad, and his verifiably false statements made while addressing Columbia University concerning Iran's view of Israel, I said, quoting from that piece, "Words so often mean nothing and that is not unique to the streets of Iran."

Well, another case in point that is infuriating because of the level of hypocrisy that liberal politicians exhibit with impunity is the absurd flap over Rush Limbaugh's comment about "phony soldiers."

I have read the transcript from the show and unless the transcript was edited, the only apology necessary is on the part of liberal politicians demanding Limbaugh apologize. Yes, Limbaugh called Jesse MacBeth a "phony soldier;" no he did not call all soldiers who oppose the war "phony."

Limbaugh criticized the derelict Macbeth as a "phony solider" for his anti-war rantings. Liberal politicians, always seeking anything--true or not--that fits their warped world view, grabbed onto the statement with glee. "Limbaugh calls soldiers who oppose the war "'PHONY!" The truth is, MacBeth WAS a phony and in more ways than one.

Claiming to be an Army Ranger winning a purple Heart in Iraq, MacBeth never even made it out of Basic Training. Why did the liberals snatch him up; because he claimed to have witnessed egregious atrocities on civilians by our troops. But all his claims about everything were bogus and MacBeth has been sentenced for defrauding the Veteran's Administration with his claims of accomplishment.

Undaunted, liberals, to whom truth is irrelevant; wanted, indeed needed the kind of anti-American sentiment MacBeth offered.

So instead of the liberal politicians offering a retraction for running with a story that was in fact false, these low-life politicians denounced Limbaugh on the floor of the House.

Think about that last sentence! This is a radio talk show host, not an official leader of the country yet he is being treated as if he were an elected representative. Even if Limbaugh made the statement the way it is claimed, so what? He has an opinion and his own "opinion" show. We still have free speech in this country--well, sort of.

And who is puffing the loudest? The most ardently destructive, anti-war, anti-solider politicians our nation can sport. Democratic Senator John--Swift Boat--Kerry called Limbaugh's comments, "disgusting" and "an embarrassment." Now that's bizarre when you consider all we know about Kerry and the Viet Nam War.

What's next? The depths of degradation have no limits with the scurrilous miscreants of the political left blinded by the illusion of power. But we really do need to get used to it for this is only a foretaste of things to come. Let the public beware.

World Communion Sunday--More Misleading Mischief

In case you missed it by design or default, yesterday was World Communion Sunday. There is an axiom I tend to go by which says, if you are not sure whether something is a good thing or a bad thing, and you don't have time to research it, just look at who is for it and who is against it.

I saw "World Communion Sunday" advertised on the sign of a Waterville Church which prides itself on its all inclusive nature which is a misleading statement for all churches should be inclusive. But there is a world of difference between a church such as my Church which indeed welcomes everyone but then speaks the truth concerning God's wisdom for life, and a church which welcomes everyone and endorses, condones and blesses all manner of contemptuous wickedness in the name of love.

I was curious what this Sunday was all about. I found this on line.

"The day was a call for all Christians - of whatever background - and of whatever theological tradition - to recollect that we are in fact one in Christ - and that the table we receive from and communion at is God's table - not our own."

So far so good; that is certainly a true statement for the universal church is made up of all the local churches; that is, all the local churches which bow their knee to Jesus as its Head not Jesus as its mascot! Big difference.

Then I found it was originated by the National Council of Churches. That was pretty much all I needed to know to know that whatever this Sunday is, you can be sure that it is more woo-woo, pap touting the fatherhood of God; brotherhood of man. The National Council of Churches has been a strong defender over the years of abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism, sex as recreation, Marxist socialism, to name only a few of its quirks.

So while we celebrated the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ yesterday, it was inclusive of others who believe in the Jesus of Scriptures, not the Jesus of one's imagination. And on "That Day" the church will be united but as Jesus said, "Not everyone that cries Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven…"

Do You Appreciate Your Pastor?

Fifty percent of seminary graduates who go into pastoral ministry also leave pastoral ministry within five years. Note, I didn't say, they leave one church for another church, actually those numbers are much lower as the average length of pastoral ministry in one place is around 3 years.

Now that ought to spawn some questions from the "consumers" meaning those who attend church, as well as some introspection. After all, Pastors don't leave a church or ministry altogether out of boredom but out of utter exhaustion, frustration and discouragement. With 75% of churches in America consisting of less than one hundred people, that means the majority of pastors are in solo situations. This means, they are expected to do everything, be everything, have an endless supply of energy, answer the phone, clean the building, be a gifted administrator, counselor, problem solver, trouble shooter, visionary, trainer, teacher, motivator, leader and should be able to live at poverty wages--and smile about it, and their families are expected to realize that since God comes first, that means they come last and they are supposed to like it.

Trust me, when I tell you, that I have no axe to grind here. I am the really rare exception and my church is an even rarer exception. That is why I have lasted 17 years in one place. But that is not the norm around America.

I know pastors who when they go to a conference are expected to not only pay for it themselves, but are expected to use vacation time. I tell you, there are many, many Christians who are going to have a lot to answer for on that last day concerning the treatment of their pastors.

Now perhaps you know that October is Clergy appreciation month. I'll be candid and tell you that if this is the only time you do something to acknowledge your appreciation for your pastor, it is woefully in sufficient--but it IS a start.

And so I encourage in the strongest possible terms to do something really special for your pastor. I don't mean a $10 gift card to Christian Book Distributors or a dinner out at the local slop house.

Our church has sent my wife and I on weekend get-aways at bed and breakfasts with all expenses paid, they have flown our children in from all parts of the country as a surprise, they even sent my wife and I to the Caribbean one year and if you're thinking, yeah but Faith is a huge church, you can afford it. Wrong--actually now that we are bigger, the gifts of appreciation are done on a much smaller scale by individuals on a personal basis through out the year. That's the down side of having a multi-staff church now. But we are shown we are appreciated in so many ways and not just one month out of the year.

For Jesus' sake, I implore you to take care of your shepherd.