Treaty threatening parent’s rights

Yes… a treaty threatening parent’s rights.  Please read the following article from the Washington Times, written by Michael Smith of the HSLDA. Afterwards, you can go to http://www.ParentalRights.org to learn more on what this is about.  This is ongoing and there are updates on the site – the original article was written a year ago but apparently the issue is gaining momentum.  Constitution Week is coming up Sept. 14-18th, and this is the best time to let your representatives hear from you!  For a breakdown of the treaty read here.

“All good parents are committed to seeking the best for their children, and in the crucial days of the presidential nominating process, many of us are turning our eyes to the years ahead.

What will the future look like for our children?

Though candidates and voters may have different perspectives on the specifics of achieving a positive future, one thing remains certain: Children need their parents.

The overwhelming majority know that parental involvement in the lives of children makes a key difference when it comes to their healthy development, education and positive life choices. In particular, home-school families know firsthand the impact of strong parental involvement in the lives of children.

Few dispute the vital role of parents in raising the next generation, but, regrettably, few recognize that the fundamental role of parents is under direct attack.

It’s possible that in the near future, the United States may significantly weaken the rights of parents to raise their children. Crucial decisions that parents are accustomed to making, such as what our children read, who they associate with, what kind of discipline is used, whether we take them to church, or whether we home-school, all become decisions for the state if the United States ratifies the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

This frightening scenario could be just around the corner. It’s not as far-fetched as we may believe. The UNCRC, after being approved by the Clinton administration in February 1995, was then sent to the Senate.

In the mid-’90s, the UNCRC was opposed by a core group of senators and stopped. The treaty still can be ratified, however, since we do not know who will control the Congress and the presidency in the future.

Many parents are completely unaware of the hazards lurking within the words of this treaty. Wrapped neatly within its positive phrases and child-focused language is a dangerous disregard for the vital role parents play in the lives of their children.

By allowing the government to define and determine what is in the “best interests of the child,” outside the context of abuse and neglect cases, the UNCRC in effect diminishes the parental role, replacing it with government supervision.

If this treaty is made binding upon our country, government officials could be advancing their definition of the “best interests” of your child — even if it means overriding some of our parental choices.

Since the U.S. Constitution makes treaty provisions binding on the nation, the only way to defend against the UNCRC, if it’s ratified, is to amend the Constitution.

To this end, the Home School Legal Defense Association is actively supporting ParentalRights.org, a new grass-roots movement of concerned parents across the nation. ParentalRights.org is an organization dedicated to ensuring the long-term security of the child-parent relationship.

The ultimate goal, however, of ParentalRights.org is to secure a constitutional amendment that will preserve and protect the rights of parents.

The parental rights amendment does not add to or change current parental rights — it only protects the rights parents presently possess, ensuring that those rights will not be weakened or devalued.

The amendment would ensure that, even if the UNCRC is ratified, your parental rights would still be protected. If you would like to read more about your parental rights and why they need to be protected, visit http://www.ParentalRights.org.

As the new year gets under way, many of us are thinking about the future of our families. The safeguarding of parental rights is vital to the future of our nation because of the role parents play in the lives of their children is one that no government official ever could replace.”

Michael Smith is the president of the Home School Legal Defense Association. He may be contacted at 540/338-5600; or send e-mail to media@hslda.org

Schapelle Corby dying in Bali jail – help bring her home.

Schapelle Corby dying in Indonesian jail

You may or may not have heard the story of Schapelle. She went to Bali on a vacation with two of her friends. When she got there, the authorities of Indonesia found 4.1 kg of marijuana in her bags… even though a Brisbane airport senior security officer says there is no way she could have smuggled it in from her departure point in Australia without that amount of drugs being detected through all the security checks.

This leaves the very ugly possibility that someone in Indonesia planted this upon her arrival. The court trial she was given was a kangaroo court for show only in the opinion of many.

1) There was NO DNA testing for her fingerprints on the drugs…
2) NO testing of the marijuana to find out what country it came from…
3) NO weighing of baggage to compare before and after weights. Any of this would have acquitted her but NOTHING WAS DONE. And not only this…
4) they BURNED THE EVIDENCE.

To a normal person, this smacks of injustice, politics and hidden affairs. She is paying the price of something bigger going on. She has asked them repeatedly to check the evidence! What criminal does that? Yet no one shows her fairness and her government does nothing.

Now she is dying in a terrible, tiny Indonesian jail cell and tries to kill herself constantly. She has been sentenced to 20 years in this place where toilets back up continually into her cell and not cleaned… full of rats, etc… and her mental stability has begun to detoriorate from that of a normal woman. She has tried to kill herself repeatedly. She has already served 6 years here… we must do everything we can to at least get her brought to her home country of Australia. We cannot idly stand by, doing nothing.

For more information, go here: http://www.freeschapelle.com.au/
There are several videos that show the story much better than I can tell it, as well as letters you can print and send, and a petition you can sign.

I keep thinking… what if this were me? Or someone I loved? What if all you did was go on a vacation holiday… and found yourself in a situation like this? Apparently it could happen to anyone. We must stand up for her and anyone in the future this might happen to! We must send the message that we are all of the same human family no matter who our relatives are or where we live… we will not tolerate this treatment of others.

Please blog it… twitter it… myspace and facebook it… anything we can do to make more people aware. She has been in there six years and last week was the first I had ever heard of it. Thank you for anything you can do to help get the word out.

Please watch the short video below. For more information, go here: http://www.freeschapelle.com.au/

To sign the petition to at least get her brought back to Australia, go here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/help-bring-schapelle-corby-home-a-free-woman