Monday in a Harlem middle school, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice told a group of 120 students that administration officials are actively discussing “when and how it might be possible to join” (that is, ratify) the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). As before, she also communicated what a disgrace it is that the U.S. would stand with only Somalia against such a widely accepted treaty.

This is the first direct public statement by the Obama administration that it will seek ratification of the UN CRC.

In my 30 years of political involvement, I have learned to recognize this as what is called a “trial balloon.” Like in World War I trench warfare, our opponents have “sent up a balloon” to see if it will draw fire. If things remain quiet, they will proceed with their plans to push for ratification of the CRC in the U.S. Senate. To discourage them from doing so, we need to make sure that our voices are heard with unmistakable clarity. We must let the Obama administration know that we oppose this anti-family, anti-American treaty.

Action

Here’s what we need you all to do:

1. Call the White House comments line at 202-456-1111. Tell them you heard the administration wants to ratify the CRC, and you strongly oppose this giving away of U.S. sovereignty to the UN. Also, keep in mind that this treaty gives the government jurisdiction to override any decision made by any parent if the government thinks that a better decision can be made—even if there is no proof of any harm.

2. Call the Ambassador Susan Rice’s office at the United Nations. Tell her that you want her to represent the United States to the world rather than trying to get the United States to go along with international law initiated by the UN. Her office number is 212-415-4000.

3. Contact your senators and urge them to oppose ratification of this treaty. (Find your senators’ contact information by using HSLDA’s Legislative Toolbox.) Ask them also to defeat it once and for all by cosponsoring SJRes 16—the Parental Rights Amendment.

For more information, parentalrights.org.

It is very important that we speak up right now. Please call before you close this page!

Michael Farris
HSLDA Chairman

Posted by C. Dalton

Home-schoolers take plunge into politics

Liz Essley THE WASHINGTON TIMES

At 17, home-schooler Tyler Fehrman was the youngest paid member of the John McCain presidential campaign. In the last five years, he's worked on 18 political campaigns in five states. Now, at 18, he is running for an at-large seat on the Mount Vernon, Ohio, City Council.

"My dream for some day is to be the governor of Ohio," he said. "But you gotta start somewhere and take it one stage at a time."

Mr. Fehrman, who finished his schooling in May and plans to attend Mount Vernon Nazarene University this fall, represents the forefront of a growing trend: home-schoolers who are actively involved in politics in their communities.

"I think it's definitely a growing trend," Mr. Fehrman said. "Here in Ohio we have a network of about 200 home-schooled students who are avidly active in politics all the time."

Mr. Fehrman's circle runs even larger. Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, said evidence shows that both home-schooling parents and their children are more civically involved than the general populace. His 2004 study of more than 7,000 home-schooled adults showed that home-schoolers were more likely to vote, volunteer for political campaigns, participate in boycotts or write letters to the editor.

Although there is no way to confirm the numbers, Mr. Ray estimates that growing numbers of students -- about 2 million -- are now learning at home.

Home-school political activism manifests itself in such groups as Christian youth organization Generation Joshua, designed to educate students in civics. Founded in 2004 as an offshoot of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, the organization now has about 6,000 student members nationwide, an estimated 70 percent of whom are home-educated.

Although Generation Joshua itself is nonpartisan, members often actively campaign for political candidates.

"We consider our mission to be to give the young people the training, knowledge and inspiration to get involved. And then they go and work on the campaigns," said the director of Generation Joshua, William Estrada, also a lawyer and home-school graduate.

Mr. Estrada recognizes political activism as a growing trend in home schooling, but said it was not necessarily new. Both he and Mr. Ray pointed out that many states still outlawed home education at the birth of the modern home-school movement in the 1980s. This forced home-schooling parents to petition state and local government for the freedom to teach their children.

Mr. Ray said the nature of home schooling also draws parents who are firm in their beliefs.

"Just by choosing home education, they're, in a sense, activists. It's not unusual for them to get involved," he said.

He also noted that although home-schoolers' beliefs are important to them, those beliefs are not necessarily uniform -- home-schoolers could not be characterized as liberal or conservative. The most common thread, Mr. Ray said, was a "classical liberal perspective," a government-hands-off attitude.

Mr. Fehrman, who calls himself a Reagan conservative, said home schooling not only gave him the flexibility to be heavily involved in campaigns, but also gave his parents the ability to instill in him a strong biblical worldview.

Seventeen-year-old Daniel Oberlander, a home-schooler in Lovettsville, Va., and a member of Generation Joshua, said his parents raised him to care about politics and the right to vote.

He has helped register voters and made calls for political candidates.

On Election Day last year, Mr. Oberlander stood on a street corner with a group of Generation Joshua students, waving McCain signs.

A car drove up to the stoplight. The driver signaled for Mr. Oberlander and his friend to come over.

"Hey, where are all the Obama kids?" the driver asked from his rolled-down window.

Mr. Oberlander's friend replied: "They probably slept in."

When is the last time you heard Barack Obama talk about freedom? Maybe the Freedom of Choice Act??

A fellow intern and I recently attended an event at the Rayburn building hosted by Young America’s Foundation on Reagan and Obama titled “Reagan vs. Obama: Solving Economic Meltdowns.”  You can find event information here. While there we heard from California Congressman Tom McClintock, Frank Donatelli, who served as an advisor to President Reagan and currently serves as the chairman of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors, and Kate Obenshain, who reminded us of the value of the free market and Reagan’s belief that government was the problem, not the solution. 

Reflecting on what the speakers said afterwards, I realized the value of a free society and the lack of freedom in Obama’s rhetoric and actions. Obama loves to talk about God, Jesus, faith, and hope, but when it comes to the value of individuals in society being responsible for their money, or companies being responsible for their actions, he is silent. The Obama administration’s move to take over the car industry is one example of his rejection of freedom.

Tom McClintock delivered an inspirational speech and reminded us of the importance of freedom in economics. California, with Governor Schwarzenegger in the lead, recently passed an increase in the sales tax. McClintock said that tax revenue decreased after the increase – so much for increased revenue.  There is a point at which increasing taxation actually reduces revenue instead of increasing revenue. This model was developed by Arthur Laffer, who became influential as a member of Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board. California, as well as the Obama administration, has ignored the Laffer curve.

Obama does not believe in freedom, and his economic policies will only reduce the freedom that we enjoy in America.

Posted by B. Kauk