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To spank or not to spank that is the question!
Spanking has again come to the political forefront in California, where members of the California Assembly's Public Safety Committee voted 5-2 on Tuesday to advance the bill that would define the use of switches (rods, rulers etc.) or paddles (brushes, cricket paddles, boat paddles, etc.) to be ‘child abuse’ and subject anyone convicted under the statute to face a possible year in jail. Bill, AB 2943, is sponsored by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber (D-Mountain View).
First off think of the complicated legal issues involved: Religious rights of the parents to discipline their children according to religious traditions, just the plain rights of our traditions of raising and disciplining our children as we see fit as parents, abuse of the system by children falsely accusing their parents of this, and the burdening of an already exhaustive system of foster care and social workers who will now have to let more fall through the cracks unless the taxpayers supply more funds to hire a lot more workers to handle this new source of cases! Not to mention all the legal work on both sides of the issue. Attorneys win again! But this all boils down to the fundamental right of the parent to choose how to raise their children. Look Dr. Spock screwed the pooch with his techniques, we have gotten fundamentally worse generations of poorly disciplined children who have not just no respect for authority but down right contempt for it.
Parents who abuse their children need to be prosecuted under our current laws but that is only part of the issue. Because growing up today many parents have not been exposed to proper discipline techniques and so when they try to administer this they fail not knowing proper boundaries they become abusive. Then there are those who are genuinely abusive because of how they were treated in their past. And lastly there are those who just outright choose to be abusive because it feeds their needs for domination and control along with violence.
As a Psychologist and member of the American Association of Christian Counselors I can tell you there are times when children need physical punishment to reinforce the appropriate behavior. I have raised 3 sons to adult hood and the number of times I have had to apply physical punishment to each has been less than ten times to each. This was not started until the age of reason 7 years old 2nd grade approximately. I never lashed out in anger but ritualized the spanking so that they had a clear understanding of why it was happening. Without understanding it is an exercise in futility! Moreover without some self-imposed boundaries it could easily lead to abuse. It was always done in the same room and by the same devise the number of strokes was determined by the breach of the rules never to exceed 5 ever! Ritualizing the process then gives control to the situation and can keep it from being very ugly. Further just the threat of the exercise could ward off future episodes this is know as a deterrent! Lastly I never just concluded the exercise with leaving the room! I would hug them and sit and talk about why this happened and how to avoid it in the future. They understood that I was operating out of love for them and wanting them to grow up with a good character, knowing that there are rules and consequences for breaking them. Ivan Bosky and the Enron execs should have had this lesson drilled into them and possibly they would not have defrauded people out of their life savings! I say possibly because people still make choices and even if they were raised to know better does not mean they will always choose the right way! But by discipline administered in love you can start them on the right path!

NEW BLOG CHECK IT OUT!

every candidate publically reveals their religious belief as part of their marketing to a segment(s) of voters whom they wish to attract. Pres, clinton when he ran use to say that he went every "sunday to church", obviously he must have been sleeping during the sermons on fidelity and intgrity. R regan use to say that abortion was the "defining issue of america" yet in his autobiography he never once mentiond the topic that was so defining. If you are religious what are your expectation for how a poitician should follow their stated religious concerns. My only admiration i had for Jimmy carter was his linking foreign aid to the belief in helping the "neediest" i cannot remember the specifics but he would on more then one occassion state the line from the bible before he spoke about the topic.
yichel

would any one know about the status of the catholic worker movement, an organization dedicated toward justice for those living on the fringe of society and the promotion of pacifism. would any of their associations still be functioning?
yichel

This story in Time was a good read.

I have always wondered if there ws a difference among the christian religions concerning heaven and what makes a sin or if there wre different levels of sin. like the so called mortal types? in judaism there basically is no heaven or hell even thetraditional concept of sin is vague and rather grey. i was taught there was no specific sin but a state of sin where one's behavior is not living up to the expectations of the community.( again ambiguous - yet in my family a sin to the family was not to go to college yet ok to marry outside the religion at least in my case while not for my sister and first cousins.)
yichel

The following is an email in response to a plea by the folks at GlenEllynGoodNeighbors.org and concerning a number of actions by Glen Ellyn,IL Village officials:

Hi!

The church is not my church nor of most of Glen Ellyn Good Neighbors. The pastor is not my pastor. Sudan slavers couldn't stop him but
greedy Glen Ellyn officials have.

It is time for the Village to cease this and all other offensive operations against Glen Ellyn homeowners and Glen Ellyn citizens.

I consider their conduct to be unconscionable attacks on my God, my home, my fellow Americans.

JUST FOR A LAUGH
Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school
parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.

1967 - Vice principal comes over to look at Jack's shotgun. He goes
to his own car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.

2007 - School goes into lock-down, and FBI is called. Jack is hauled
off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for
traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.

1967 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up
best friends.

2007 - Police called. SWAT team arrives. Johnny and Mark are arrested
and charged with assault. Both are expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.

1967 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the
Principal. He returns to class, sits still, and does not disrupt class
again.

2007 - Jeffrey is diagnosed with A. D. D. and given huge doses of
Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. School gets extra money from State
because Jeffrey has a learning disability.

Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his dad gives him
a whipping with his belt.

1967 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to
college, and becomes a successful businessman.

2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is placed in
foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist convinces Billy's sister
that she remembers being abused herself, and their dad goes to prison.
Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.

Scenario: Mark has a headache and brings some aspirin to school.

1967 - Mark takes aspirin in lunchroom and headache goes away.

2007 - Police called. Mark is expelled from school for drug
violations. Car is searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario: Pedro fails English in high school.

1967 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, and goes to college.

2007 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear
nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation
is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and
Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro is
given a diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he
cannot speak English.

Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July,
puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, and blows up a fire ant hill.

1967 - Ants die.

2007 - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Homeland Security,
and FBI called. Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. The FBI
investigates parents; siblings are removed from home; computers are
confiscated. Johnny's dad goes on Terror Watch List and is never allowed to
fly again.

Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his
knee. He is found crying by his teacher who hugs him to comfort
him.

1967 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.

2007 - Teacher is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job.
She faces three years in state prison. Johnny undergoes five years of
therapy.

I just want to say that this "religion" site is merely a "politics" site and I'm greatly disappointed.
So I quickly bid my farewells.
Peace to all of you.

With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in," I wonder if yung people read this how they might respond?
yichel