PUBLIC MARKS from jasontromm with tag children

A New York mother has written to national advice columnist Harriette Cole saying she wants her pregnant 14 year-old daughter to have an abortion. The letter points to the alarming trend of parents forcing their children to have abortions when they discover their teenage daughters are pregnant.

There's a slow poison out there that's severely damaging our children and threatening to tear apart our culture. The ironic part is, it's a "health food," one of our most popular.

A public-school handout urging young children in Virginia to attend a "Pagan ritual" tomorrow to "celebrate Yule" is sparking objections from concerned parents. "Amazing -- government schools ban orthodox Christianity, but allow an openly pagan organization to proselytize six-year-olds!" one observer who asked for anonymity told WND.

While the military "quagmire" in Iraq was said to tip the scales of power in the U.S. midterm elections, most Americans have no idea more of their fellow citizens – men, women and children – were murdered this year by illegal aliens than the combined death toll of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since those military campaigns began.

A federal court of appeals unanimously struck down a Florida school board policy barring students from distributing religious literature on campus. Represented by the public-interest group Liberty Counsel, student Michelle Heinkel of Cypress Lake Middle School in Fort Myers had sought permission to distribute religious and pro-life literature about the "Day of Remembrance," set aside to remember unborn children killed by abortion.

A congressman under investigation for bribery was caught on videotape accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from an FBI informant whose conversations with the lawmaker also were recorded, according to a court document released Sunday. Agents later found the cash hidden in his freezer. At one audiotaped meeting, Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., chuckles about writing in code to keep secret what the government contends was his corrupt role in getting his children a cut of a communications company's deal for work in Africa. ()() But if you believe the MSM the Democrats are pure as the driven snow. Only Republicans are supposed to be acting like this.

Now that hundreds of thousands of parents have discovered for themselves how the public school system is an incredibly inefficient and ineffective means of providing children with an education, it is interesting to note that some of them are beginning to turn skeptical eyes on the hallowed institution of the university.

A group of Baptist leaders called on its members Friday to "speak positively about public education" in response to a conservative movement to pull Baptist children out of public schools. Fifty-six pastors and organizational leaders - some from the conservative Southern Baptist Convention and others from the more moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship - signed a letter supporting public schools.

A new study shows a direct relationship between mercury in children's vaccines and autism, contradicting government claims there is no proven relationship between the two. Published in the March 10 issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, the data show since mercury was removed from childhood vaccines, the increase in reported rates of autism and other neurological disorders in children not only stopped, but actually dropped sharply – by as much as 35 percent.

Parents want to trust their doctors, but we also need doctors to become more involved in the vaccination process -- a process that, unfortunately, is dominated by the government.

A former graduate student who lost an internship for discussing her Christian faith with co-workers has filed a federal lawsuit. Jacqueline Escobar was completing a master's degree in social work at California State University Long Beach when she interned with the Department of Children and Family Services, or DCFS.

A pro-abortion city councilwoman in Rotterdam says that forced abortions should be used to curb the "problem" of unwanted children in Holland and its territories. Alderman Marianne van den Anker of the Leefbaar Rotterdam (LR) party says the forced abortion and contraception would reduce the incidence of child abuse. ()() Once you make abortion legal, then people are free to spout ideas like this that promote eugenics.

The hissy fit thrown by the national media appears to be working. Just like spoiled children, the media’s temper tantrum over the lack of information flowing directly to them regarding Vice President Cheney’s hunting accident has now started to yield results. Democrats, media members, and even some Republicans are beginning to criticize the vice president. Get real! Iran is enriching uranium, and the only concern in Washington appears to be the hurt feelings of left-wing journalists.

The latest reason for gun control and gun rights activists to sharpen their rhetoric is a Christmas card released by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. The card features an armed Santa Claus attempting to shield three children from a terrorist.

In addition to celebrating the birth of our Savior, Christmas is also a time when "nice" children eagerly await a gift in their stocking. On the other hand, those who are "naughty" are told that only a lump of coal awaits them. In politics, this practice would yield record profits for the coal industry as the Democrats have set new standards in obstruction, attacks, and rhetoric.

Do you know who's watching your children when you aren't there? We do. Find registered sex offenders nearby.

The $100 laptop computers that Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers want to get into the hands of the world's children would be durable, flexible and self-reliant.