Steven Tyler Snorted Coke as His Firstborn Was Being Killed

"Steven watched the baby come out," the mother writes, "and he told me later, when we were in New Hampshire, that it had been born alive and allowed to die. (I was not allowed to see the baby when it was delivered.) Steven told me later that it had been a boy and that he now felt terrible guilt and a sense of dread over what he had done. I did not know that such a thing could be legal. I could not imagine a world where a tiny baby could be born alive and tossed aside as worthless without ever seeing his mother’s face."

Read the whole thing here, including an ending filled with grace and mercy.

Mr. Churchill's Very Bad Day

Here's hoping you have a good day today. But even if you don't, it likely won't be as challenging as the May 27 Winston Churchill faced 71 years ago.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Over at Red Dirt Report, Andrew W. Griffin has the story of an Oklahoma middle-school administrator and her family (and her pets!) who took shelter in the school on Tuesday, safe from the deadly storms. But when a neighborhood mom and dad showed up with their children, the administrator told them to take a hike. (She later let them in, reluctantly.)

As a very wise man once said in another context, the hireling doesn't care for the sheep like the shepherd does.

Thinking about Liberty

[This Marlin Oil advertorial appears in the May 26, 2011 edition of The City Sentinel.]

This space has been devoted to reflections about liberty and, from time to time, responsibility.

In this corner, public policy proposals were always viewed from a position devoted to traditional American values of economic freedom, limited government, personal responsibility, and a strong national defense.

The future is murky. There is no guarantee that for America, or Oklahoma, things will get better, or worse. The only guarantee is that conditions and circumstances will change, and leaders of our community, state, and nation will have to adjust.

So long as Oklahomans support principles of limited government, a framework will exist to build a better state, and more productive lives for our citizens.

With liberty comes responsibility to remain attentive to those who suffer from want of the basics of life. The most basic ingredient for successful living is missing from the lives of too many children these days. That is the love and structure that can only come from an attentive and loving adult who sets boundaries, provides a wholesome example, and meets essential needs.

It seems only prudent for those with financial resources to find ways to assist in providing means to fill the poverty of values that afflicts all levels of the common culture.

It was no surprise to learn from Parade magazine, reporting on a recent study, that Oklahomans were the most generous people in the nation, on a per capita basis.

Government resources were never sufficient to address the needs of our people, and will never be sufficient in the future.

In the end, the solution to the problems of our day begins with the man, or woman, in the mirror. The best way to demonstrate devotion to social welfare, to show compassion for the less fortunate, to meet the needs of the grieving and afflicted, is with personal resources of money and time.

In the Bible, the Good Samaritan was the one who did not turn away when he saw a stranger in pain. He chose, freely, to stop, render aid, and provide money to the one who had been beaten, robbed, and left alone. When the Rabbi who told that story reflected on its meaning, He spoke words that resonate even more today than they did nearly 2,000 years ago: Go and do the same.

The best way to honor those who bequeathed liberty to us is to live in a way worthy of their examples, including support for policies that leave us free to choose.

Keep thinking about liberty.

Here's Some Good News

In his sermon last week our pastor preached from the passage that instructs Christians to "always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." That got me to thinking: How would I explain this whole Christianity thing to someone? And could I do it succinctly enough to make a blog post out of it?

First, let's define our terms. Here's Christianity in a hundred words or so, courtesy of the Apostles' Creed:

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
Born of the virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, dead, and buried:
He descended into hell;
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost;
The holy catholic church;
The communion of saints;
The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting.
Amen.

Okay, good enough. But what's it all about? Well, in modern America it's important to emphasize right up front that Christianity is not some sort of self-help program (How can I relieve stress? How can I get my family budget in order? How can I have my best life now?). It's not a system of ethics. It's not some sort of "family values" platform. Rather, Christianity is a story -- specifically, a rescue story. As theologian Michael Horton puts it,

The Bible, all along -- its whole plot line from Genesis to Revelation -- tells us, "Hey, come over here for a minute. Sit down." It's a doctor giving us the diagnosis: "You have cancer." Once you hear "you have cancer," your whole outlook on what you need changes. And once God tells us, "Look, this is the problem: I am your enemy. I can't be anything but your enemy, apart from you being in the right with respect to my justice and my law, my righteousness. Now ... I'm going to tell you what I did about that."

And of course what He did about that is very good news. Indeed, it is the "gospel" -- the "euangélion" -- the "good news," and it is summarized in the creed above (especially that part about being crucified and rising from the dead). I love this preface to a storybook Bible we used to read to Jack Henry:

Now some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn't do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. It's about God and what He has done. Other people think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but (as you'll soon find out) most of the people in the Bible aren't heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose), they get afraid and run away. At times they are downright mean.

No, the Bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It's an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It's a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne -- everything -- to rescue the one he loves. ... There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

Well, okay, that's all well and good for a children's story. But why would an intelligent grown-up want to embrace it?

Answer: Because it's true. It is not merely a story. It is -- like Hannibal crossing the Alps or the delegates gathering in Philadelphia -- history. If it is not historically true, then it can safely be ignored.

Some people can handle religion if it's sufficiently mysterious and vague, if it's all sweetness and light, if all roads to lead to heaven, and so on. But what kind of religion would go and stick Pontius Pilate right there in the middle of the creed? A specific Roman bureaucrat, for crying out loud! But that's just it: Christianity is rooted in history. The evidence demonstrates that Jesus of Nazareth lived, was executed, rose from the dead, and then appeared to more than 500 people. If you're not persuaded by that evidence, then don't waste your time with Christianity. After all, "if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain," says the apostle Paul. If Christ is not raised, he says, "let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

But if He is raised -- and He is -- then we must repent and believe this good news.

Cato Scholar Raps Oklahoma AP

Andrew J. Coulson is a tad bemused by the AP's "indifference to the facts."

Laws-and-Sausages Watch

Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre

State Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre (D-Tulsa) is a liberal pro-abortion Democrat with whom I have virtually nothing in common. But I've always admired the way she has stood up for giving underprivileged students more school options -- even when doing so has been difficult for her politically. So I must say I felt sorry for her recently when she had abuse heaped upon her in the most inappropriate of ways. First the lefty lobbyist Margaret Erling went off on her -- on the Senate floor, no less -- then vo-tech official Kara Gae Neal dispatched an electronic missive that you really must read for yourself.

The good senator will live to fight another day. Here's hoping she comes back next year and helps push another school-choice bill across the finish line.

'Planned Parenthood Opens $8 Billion Abortionplex'

Wow. America's Finest News Source just flat brings it today:

TOPEKA, KS—Planned Parenthood announced Tuesday the grand opening of its long-planned $8 billion Abortionplex, a sprawling abortion facility that will allow the organization to terminate unborn lives with an efficiency never before thought possible.

During a press conference, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards told reporters that the new state-of-the-art fetus-killing facility located in the nation's heartland offers quick, easy, in-and-out abortions to all women, and represents a bold reinvention of the group's long-standing mission and values.

"Although we've traditionally dedicated 97 percent of our resources to other important services such as contraception distribution, cancer screening, and STD testing, this new complex allows us to devote our full attention to what has always been our true passion: abortion," said Richards, standing under a banner emblazoned with Planned Parenthood's new slogan, "No Life Is Sacred." "And since Congress voted to retain our federal funding, it's going to be that much easier for us to maximize the number of tiny, beating hearts we stop every day."

"The Abortionplex's high-tech machinery is capable of terminating one pregnancy every three seconds," Richards added. "That's almost a million abortions every month. We're so thrilled!"

The 900,000-square-foot facility has more than 2,000 rooms dedicated to the abortion procedure. The abundance of surgical space, Richards said, will ensure that women visiting the facility can be quickly fitted into stirrups without pausing to second-guess their decision or consider alternatives such as adoption. Hundreds of on-site counselors are also available to meet with clients free of charge and go over the many ways that carrying a child to term will burden them and very likely ruin their lives.

The remaining space is dedicated to amenities such as coffee shops, bars, dozens of restaurants and retail outlets, a three-story nightclub, and a 10-screen multiplex theater—features intended not only to help clients relax, but to foster a sense of community and make abortion more of a social event. 

 Read the whole thing.

Oklahoma's Early-Education Enthusiasm Is Nothing New

Today marks the 240th anniversary of the birth of Robert Owen, the wealthy industrialist and philanthropist who was one of the founders of socialism.

Owen was “an environmental determinist,” scholar Donald Pitzer explains below in a clip from the PBS documentary “Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism.” One of socialism’s fundamental ideas is that it's possible to mold human character—but it’s essential to get the children while they’re young. Owen created the first preschool in the United Kingdom, and early-childhood education was a key part of his socialist experiment at New Harmony, Indiana. As Joshua Muravchik writes in the book on which the PBS documentary is based, “the most remarkable aspect of Owen’s system was the age at which the schooling began—at one year old or as soon as the children were able to walk.”

But of course there’s nothing new under the sun. As historian Allan Carlson reminds us (“French Preschool Wrong for Oklahoma”), “the utopian allure of group care for small children is a recurring theme in human history.”

Writing in the 4th century B.C., the Greek philosopher Plato laid out a vision of a society built on collective childrearing in his dialogue, Republic. "Friends share," the philosopher reasoned, which meant that "all the women are to be shared among all the men. And that the children are also to be shared with no parent knowing which child is his, or the child knowing his parents." These children would be placed in collective nurseries and schools, to be cared for and taught by persons "who live in a separate section of the community." The parents would be freed up to pursue other tasks; the children would gain their early education from specialists.

This enthusiasm for surrogate parenting turns up again and again throughout history, voiced by various progressives, feminists, socialists, and others who dismiss mothers as mere "amateurs"—thinking it to be a term of derision, but perhaps unaware that the word traces to the Latin amāre (“to love”) and that amateurs are those whose actions are motivated by love rather than money. As a very wise man once said in another context, the hireling doesn't care for the sheep like the shepherd does.

Robert Owen has come and gone, but his pernicious ideas persist. As recently as yesterday, one writer at a socialist website laid out a vision for America: "A community of caring, kindness, equality, and solidarity will become the dominant reality of daily life. It will encourage new social arrangements to care for the very young (free, quality child care) and the very old."

Here in Oklahoma, plenty of people embrace that vision. Many are true believers, and many others are simply hirelings with a vested economic interest in keeping Owen's early-education ideas alive.




Cross-posted at Choice Remarks

Oklahoma Legislature Considers Defunding Planned Parenthood

I've argued that it would be a good idea at the federal level, and here's hoping it gets done at the state level also.

'Abortion Lobby Powers the Democratic Money Machine'

"Obama reminded us in April of abortion's pre-eminent role in the Democratic Party," Timothy P. Carney writes. "After acquiescing to Republican demands on taxes and spending, he wouldn't budge on federal subsidies for Planned Parenthood."

Scenes from the Edmond Food Festival

Friday evening Brandon, Jack Henry, and I went to the Edmond Arts Festival. The other kids all had Friday-evening plans, so as one of our kids said, "Well, Jack Henry, I guess it's just you and the oldsters."

As soon as we got there Jack Henry was on a mission to find a candy apple:



Success:









And I was on a mission to find a funnel cake. Again, success:



We sat on the bench sharing funnel cake, remembering that last year we had sat on the exact same bench eating funnel cake. And Jack Henry remarked, "All I ever really do at this place is eat."

School Choice Will Give Hope to the Hopeless

State Rep. Rebecca Hamilton, a liberal Democrat from Oklahoma City, has been trying to rescue children for several years now. Her recent remarks regarding SB 969, a bill which would give some kids a chance to escape to a private school, were quite moving.

This Is Not—I Repeat, Not—from the Onion News Network

Last week in Dallas I had the privilege of watching this MSDNC segment in the company of several dozen of my compadres in the State Policy Network. I can tell you the response in the room was a raucous admixture of applause and guffaws, along with several high-fives. Enjoy!

A Big Day for Educational Freedom in Oklahoma

School choice marches on in Oklahoma, and of course I think it's swell.

Steven Tyler's Post-Abortion Trauma

"So they had the abortion," a friend of Steven Tyler recalls, "and it really messed Steven up because it was a boy. He ... saw the whole thing and it [messed] him up big time." Says the Aerosmith rocker himself:

You go to the doctor and they put the needle in her belly and they squeeze the stuff in and you watch. And it comes out dead. I was pretty devastated. In my mind, I’m going, Jesus, what have I done? ...

It affected me later. ... I was afraid. I thought we'd give birth to a six-headed cow because of what I'd done with other women. The real-life guilt was very traumatic for me. Still hurts.

Announcing the Graduation of Our Son, May 14, 2011

Lincoln Tyler Dutcher

Homeschooling Moms as Economic Powerhouses

Today marks the beginning of Teacher Appreciation Week, so I'd like to express my appreciation to my wife, Susie, and all the other homeschooling moms out there. Former Heritage Foundation scholar Patrick Fagan writes:

As George Steven Swan noted in the previous issue of The Family in America, the married homemaker who focuses her attention on the children, hearth, and home has rarely been acknowledged for the economic force that she is. Paraphrasing Teddy Roosevelt who rebutted those who claimed she is a parasite, the married mother at home is the economy. Her impact on the economy is three-fold: first, she raises the future labor force; second, her at-home labor saves the family money; and third, by tending to details on the home front, she both allows and motivates her husband to be fully committed to his occupation, job, or profession. George Gilder even suggests that civilization would not be possible without the role of married women in motivating their husbands to be economically productive. So extensive is her contribution that [Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary] Becker has suggested to this writer that the married mother at home exerts a more far-reaching impact on the economy than the married father in the workplace (whose earnings would be less without the support of a wife at home). While the husband contributes to the present economy, the mother contributes to both present and future economy, but especially the future economy through the more highly productive children she raises.

The economic impact of married mothers who home-school their children is even greater. For example, the average cost of attending a private elementary or secondary school in major metropolitan areas in the United States is $10,000 to $20,000 per child per year. If a married mother has five children, and she chooses to home-school them, she would save the family as much as $100,000 per year. This is a direct, after-tax income contribution to the family. She also saves the state (and the taxpayer) at least half of that amount for not enrolling her children in the public schools. Furthermore, she will likely provide a better education on average, since home-schooled children perform at slightly higher levels than privately and publicly schooled children.

Congrats to My Hubby

Last night Brandon and I went to Tulsa for a Society of Professional Journalists awards dinner where Brandon won first place for this column (second place, third place, and honorable mention went to writers from the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman). Of all the articles Brandon has written, this one is my favorite.

Brandon with our friend Pat McGuigan

Oklahomans to Vote on Racial Preferences

"On November 6, 2012, Oklahoma voters will decide whether to amend the state constitution to bar the government from treating people differently in employment, contracting, and education based on race," writes La Shawn Barber, one of my favorite Reformed bloggers.

I plan to vote for the measure, even though it would mean my own children would no longer be eligible for diversity scholarships at Oklahoma's historically black college.