Pedophiles and the Regulation of Hugging

CATO  via Heritage  "Concerns about protecting children may deprive them of important physical contact."

http://imagesbycat.com/

My wife and I worked with children in AWANA for 25 years in a rough area of town with many, um, dysfunctional families represented among our kids. Many were badly in need of an adult's tender, loving touch and responded hungrily to love. We were circumspect in our giving of affection and diligent about screening our workers, but felt the warning not to hug your kids left all with an emptiness that cried out to be filled.

What is not appreciated is how pedophiles have indirectly harmed tens of millions of children, especially disadvantaged children, whom the pedophiles have never touched. This harm comes in the form of institutional policies on how supervising adults can interact—or, rather, not interact—with children. In the main, incidences of pedophilia, both proven and unproven, have led to institutional regulations that restrict adult caregivers, teachers, ministers, and coaches—among other adults who have regular contact with children—from hugging (or even touching)

children under their care and instruction. For fear of being wrongly accused of child molestation, many adults have increased the distance they stay from children.

The article gives us this advice on overcautious guidelines:

The problem with restrictive hugging policies is that hugs can be good for children’s souls, minds, and behaviors, which can have subsequent beneficial economic consequences.

I cautioned my leaders about the dangers of hugging, but one man told me, "These kids need to be hugged and I love hugging them!" I knew this man for decades and saw his gift with children,  how they loved him and his gift for making them feel loved. My misguided advice-regardless of it being well-intentioned- would have denied those children something they were badly in need of.
The Tunnel Dweller

Profound words: "The hypocrisy of having Obama and Holder lecture the rest of us on "gun control" is appalling and unacceptable."

Hope n' Change  "For 2012, "Sandy" was our least favorite name owing to its association with so much sadness, destruction, and shameless politicization. Per the cartoon above, MSNBC newsidiot Chris Matthews actually expressed delight that Hurricane Sandy occured because it helped the president politically.

"But the worst has got to be Barack Obama's current invoking of the murdered children of Sandy Hook not just to promote gun control- but as the reason that members of the GOP should "take off their partisan war paint" and raise taxes, increase spending, and give Obama unlimited borrowing powers.

"It says a lot (in fact, frighteningly too much) about this president that he would enthusiastically use the blood of innocents for his selfish political power grab. The children of Sandy Hook did not die to promote Socialism. "...

Guns, Mental Illness and Newtown

http://terrellaftermath.com/

WSJ; Guns, Mental Illness and Newtown  ...."The 1980s were much worse than today in terms of overall violent crime, including gun homicide, but they were much better than today in terms of mass random shootings. The difference wasn't that the 1980s had tougher controls on so-called "assault weapons." No assault weapons law existed in the U.S. until California passed a ban in 1989."
The writer describes the difference between gangsters and the lone, crazed mass shooter, stating: "They are predominantly weaklings and cowards who crumble easily as soon as an armed person shows up.

"The problem is that by the time the police arrive, lots of people are already dead. So when armed citizens are on the scene, many lives are saved. The media rarely mention the mass murders that were thwarted by armed citizens at the Shoney's Restaurant in Anniston, Ala. (1991), the high school in Pearl, Miss. (1997), the middle-school dance in Edinboro, Penn. (1998), and the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo. (2007), among others.
"At the Clackamas Mall in Oregon last week, an active shooter murdered two people and then saw that a shopper, who had a handgun carry permit, had drawn a gun and was aiming at him. The murderer's next shot was to kill himself."  (Emphases added, both here and below)
But the writer nails the entire issue here in a way that- I fear- any Obama-led commission will not:

Real gun-free zones are a wonderful idea, but they are only real if they are created by metal detectors backed up by armed guards. Pretend gun-free zones, where law-abiding adults (who pass a fingerprint-based background check and a safety training class) are still disarmed, are magnets for evildoers who know they will be able to murder at will with little threat of being fired upon.

People who are serious about preventing the next Newtown should embrace much greater funding for mental health, strong laws for civil commitment of the violently mentally ill—and stop kidding themselves that pretend gun-free zones will stop killers.

Name a commission whose recommendations this president has followed.

Obama voters called "Low-information" voters

TIME: Obama Appealed to Low-Information Morons by Losing First Debate to Romney

"Richard Stengel, the TIME Magazine guy, the editor. You know, yesterday he was on Today show, announced Obama as the Person of the Year. He said the reason why they named Obama Person of the of Year is because the no-information voters love the guy. They're transforming America. They actually said this. TIME magazine said it's remarkable he's worth being Person of the Year, 'cause he's the guy that ended up being able, the first politician to get votes from people who don't care about anything and who aren't paying attention. That is worth honoring in 2012, almost 2013 America."   Rush Limbaugh

Do We Want to Reach the Low-Info Crowd? One caller told Rush Limbaugh, "I had breakfast with Romney. And I looked at him and I said, "Are you gonna attack President Obama during this election?" And he said, "No." I said, "Then you're gonna lose, because we need to start thinking about elections separately than governing." And we don't do that. ..."I think you should go out there and say to people, 'Look, progressives want to tax less people more and conservatives want to tax more people less. Because when more people are being taxed less, then people are working and the economy grows.'" He looked at me and said, "Ah, it's a great idea, it's true, but you can't say that." I said, "Why can't you say it? It's the truth. And we need to separate --"

NRA vs. Hollywood

http://www.wnd.com/?attach_external_tab&97615520&4&0&0&0&0&iexplore

Weinstein Chains 'Django': L.A. Premiere Cancelled    "Jamie Foxx, who only a week and a half ago was jokingly celebrating how in his new film, he gets to “kill all the white people,” sounded off in the aftermath of Sandy Hook, stating, “can't ignore the fact that movie violence can influence people.” Weinstein has apparently signaled that he agrees – and admitted tacitly that his hyperviolent films may play a role in the creation of situations like Sandy Hook." 

 

Liberal celebrities have a funny way of showing how much they value life.

Chuck Hagel for Defense Secretary; What Does it Mean?

Caroline Glick gives us her opinion as an Israeli  "Obama wants to hurt Israel. He does not like Israel. He is appointing anti-Israel advisors and cabinet members not despite their anti-Israel positions, but because of them.
"Some commentators said that Susan Rice would be bad because she was anti-Israel and they hoped that Obama would appoint someone pro-Israel. But John Kerry is no friend of Israel. And as far as I was concerned, we would have been better off with Rice on the job. "

Jennifer Rubin; EXCLUSIVE: ADL pans possible Chuck Hagel pick  Quoting Abe Foxman, the head of the Anti-Defamation League:

http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/

“Chuck Hagel would not be the first, second, or third choice for the American Jewish community’s friends of Israel. His record relating to Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship is, at best, disturbing, and at worst, very troubling. The sentiments he’s expressed about the Jewish lobby border on anti-Semitism in the genre of professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt and former president Jimmy Carter.”

Also from Rubin:

Six ways you know Chuck Hagel is in trouble
Senate Dems in a pickle if Hagel nominated

From the Wall Street Journal: Chuck Hagel's Jewish Problem;  " The would-be secretary of defense has some curious views."

 Politico: HAGEL ALLIES FIRE BACK   "Hagel's former aides yesterday released a fact sheet outlining his positions on national security, Israel and the Middle East. And separately, a group of nine former ambassadors signed a letter, obtained by POLITICO, calling Hagel "an impeccable choice" for Defense secretary. Signatories include Nicholas Burns, former undersecretary of State for political affairs, and Ryan Crocker, former ambassador to Iraq and Afghanistan."

Time Magazine's "Person of the Year"

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Forbes Magazine: President Barack Obama Is Time's Person of the Year, By Default  "Barack Obama survived a presidential election against a weak opponent despite an underwhelming legislative record and his own failure to define the choice in positive terms. In 2012, that’s good enough to earn you a Person of the Year nod from Time."

Big Journalism: "Kind of a no-brainer pick for "Time," but check out this slobbering love affair of purplish prose oozing from the pores of editor Rick Stengel."

Limbaugh: Obama TIME’s ‘Person Of The Year’ Because He Symbolizes New ‘Stupid People’ Demographic   "I wonder what these elite Democrats really think about that. So this guy’s Man of the Year because idiots love him? Because believe me, they think low-information voters are idiots. I guarantee you. They’ll be glad to take their votes. The new stupid America? That should have been Man of the Year. Person of the Year: Stupid people. The low-information voter should have been the Person of the Year.” "

It's Thursday; what are your kids doing now?

conservativedailynews.com

Lieberman: 'Rumors' CT Shooter Had 'Hypnotic Involvement' With Video Games  "Joe Lieberman I-Conn: “Very often these young men have an almost hypnotic involvement in some form of violence in our entertainment culture – particularly violent video games, and then they obtain guns and become not just troubled young men but mass murderers.” "

Have you bought your ‘abornament’ yet?

Conservative Daily News

"Yes, abortion rights activists have reached a new level of depravity. Apparently, as everyone indulges in the holiday spirit, the pro-choice camp decided to create abortion ornaments – or ‘abornaments’ – to be part of the commemoration of the birth of Christ. The fact that pro-choice Americans threw this in the face of those who practice religion, or hold pro-life beliefs, is offensive in the extreme. Steven Ertelt of Life News wrote on December 19:"....

Screen shot from Liberty Unyielding

We Know How to Stop School Shootings

Ann Coulter 

"None of these policies had any effect on the frequency of, or carnage from, multiple-victim shootings. (I note that they did not look at reforming our lax mental health laws, presumably because the ACLU is working to keep dangerous nuts on the street in all 50 states.)

"Only one public policy has ever been shown to reduce the death rate from such crimes: concealed-carry laws."
....Read the full article.

"By contrast, the shootings in gun-free zones invariably result in far higher casualty figures -- Sikh temple, Oak Creek, Wis. (six dead); Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va. (32 dead); Columbine High School, Columbine, Colo. (12 dead); Amish school, Lancaster County, Pa. (five little girls killed); public school, Craighead County, Ark. (five killed, including four little girls).

"All these took place in gun-free zones, resulting in lots of people getting killed -- and thereby warranting inclusion in the Mother Jones study.

"If what we care about is saving the lives of innocent human beings by reducing the number of mass public shootings and the deaths they cause, only one policy has ever been shown to work: concealed-carry laws. On the other hand, if what we care about is self-indulgent grandstanding, and to hell with dozens of innocent children being murdered in cold blood, try the other policies."

Racism at the Times

John Steele Gordon  "Professor Reed writes about the appointment of Rep. Tim Scott(right) to replace the retiring Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina. Scott, in Reed’s view, is essentially an Uncle Tom because he does not agree with the politics of most black Americans:.

. . his politics, like those of the archconservative Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, are utterly at odds with the preferences of most black Americans. Mr. Scott has been staunchly anti-tax, anti-union and anti-abortion.

...".Professor Reed calls his piece “The Puzzle of Black Republicans.” But the puzzle is easily solved. Tim Scott is not a black Republican. He’s a Republican who happens to be black. Professor Reed sees racism in everything. But if he’d like to see a real racist, he needs only to look in a mirror."

It’s Hard to Screw Up California — But We Try Our Best

Victor Davis Hanson   "...there are two Californias: a thin coastal strip where upscale, highly educated elites, in the manner of the DC/Virginia corridor, profit from managing the vast regulatory technocracy and big-government bureaus, the top universities (e.g., Berkeley, Cal Tech, Stanford, UCLA, USC, etc.) reside and draw in thousands of rich foreigners, Silicon Valley is flush with export cash, and where the climate, ocean, and boutique culture make for the good life — and the vast north, Sierra, inland south, and Central Valley that bear more directly the burdens of lousy schools, regulations on development of resources, illegal immigration, and flight out of state — all of which explains why a 1,500 square foot house in Santa Cruz or Menlo Park sells for about $800,000 to $1 million, while its similarly sized counterpart from Stockton to Fresno goes for around $125,000 to $150,000. A Bakersfield, Tulare, or Selma is simply in a different galaxy from a Palo Alto, Carmel, San Luis Obispo, or Santa Barbara.

calwatchdog.com

...."But until the state deals with its cumbersome regulations, record taxes, hostility to resource development — and supports closing the border and promotes ethnically blind assimilation rather than serial amnesties and ethnic chauvinism — we will continue to have the nation’s worst schools, worst infrastructure, worst business climate, and highest exoduses, as California plods on, coasting on the fumes of what nature and our ancestors so generously bequeathed to us."

California Political Review