The devastating effects of divorce on children

Monica Epperson's book, “A Heart with Two Homes,” covers the trauma of an early childhood with five fathers due to multiple divorces.

After listening to Monica Epperson’s story, most would say that she is a survivor. They would be wrong. Monica Epperson is an over-comer, a vivid example of how a child can overcome the trauma of divorce. Epperson’s story is particularly ompelling.

She was not a child of one divorce. The first divorce happened when she was only one year old. Four more would happen before she reached the age of 12. It is the sum of these experiences that led Epperson to write “A Heart With Two Homes” to help children living with divorce. Her personal experience has made her keenly aware of the issues and problems that children of divorce confront, and the impact it has on them.

One issue Epperson describes is the mistrust of men that developed at an early age, “The revolving door of men in my life deeply impacted my ability to trust them. My experiences as a child taught me that people you care about, especially men, leave. This just seemed normal to me.”

Another issue Epperson had to confront as a child of divorce was intimacy. “Attaching and detaching from men so frequently made me automatically self-protective and defensive,” she says. “You learn that you should not get close to someone because they’ll just leave and it will hurt you.”

Check out the rest of the article here.

Vote Yes on Prop 8 Videos

Here's a good collection of well-made videos in support of Prop 8. Check them out, pass them around, and comment!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcSd4k5dz3c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYawKVsuq_k

http://www.ivotevalues.org/ (Check out the gay agenda one.)

More resources: http://www.protectmarriageca.com/protectmarriage/other_resources

Putting the Bible on Trial

Is the Bible hate speech? Or is Bradley Lashawn Fowler a troubled man with a nuisance law suit? Here's a look at the trends behind this disturbing case.

Bradley Lashawn Fowler, a gay man, claims that Christian publishing powerhouses, Zondervan Publishing and Thomas Nelson Publishing infringed his constitutional rights. Fowler alleges the companies' bibles' references to homosexuality as a sin made him an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of "demoralization, chaos and bewilderment." According to a local TV station, "his family's pastor used that Zondervan Bible, and because of it his family considered him a sinner and he suffered. Now he is asking for an apology and $60 million, 'to compensate for the past 20 years of emotional duress and mental instability.'"

When I first saw this case, I thought it was an example of gay activist overreach. But on closer examination, it looks more like a disturbed guy looking for some combination of attention and lawsuit winnings. The news stories make him sound more coherent than he sounds on his website.

Read the rest of the article by Jennifer Roback Morse at ToTheSource.org here.

San Diego Union Tribune Supports Prop 4

The Union Tribune endorsement of Prop 4 comes with reasons Dr. J has used in the past: ie if a girl is about to be abused by her parents, she needs to be in protective custody way more than she needs a secret abortion.

Here's the information:

San Diego Union Tribune slams Proposition 4 critics, citing popular support among California voters in a September 23, 2008 editorial.

Questioning the oppositions' "adamant objection to requiring parental notification or family notification in the few cases of parental abuse", the editorial begs: "Under what other circumstance would these critics contend that the suspected abuse of a child by her parents should not be reported to authorities?"

Opponents to Proposition 4, "misread the public" states the Union Tribune, noting that most Americans want abortion to be "safe, legal and rare". Teen abortion rates, teen pregnancy rates and rates of teen sexually transmitted infections have significantly declined in the 34 states that have enacted parental involvement or notification laws.

Endorsing the initiative due to notification of adult family members in lieu of parents in certain circumstances, the San Diego Union Tribune says: "This time, it is a significantly improved proposition" and "It should pass."

A Call to action! Please send letters of support to the Union-Tribune. Add your comments to the online article.

http://www.yeson4.net/

Posted by Betsy

It takes a family ...

Here's a great article published last month in the Jackson Citizen Patriot. In it, Patricia Robertson quotes Dr. J and refers to her book, Love and Economics: It Takes a Family to Raise a Village.

Children are back in school and parents are breathing a sigh of relief.

Speaking for myself and for most parents I know, we are grateful for teachers and our school systems, which help us in our task of raising responsible adults. As the African proverb says, ``it takes a village to raise a child.''

But as many teachers will point out, it also takes a family to raise a village. Teachers are well aware of how problems in the home can affect their ability to teach. Far too often our teachers are expected to be substitute parents and social workers in addition to the job of teaching the basics. It has also been documented that children whose parents are involved in their child's education do better in school. Teachers can't do it alone.

Jennifer Roback Morse, former professor of economics at Yale and George Mason University, shows how it makes good economic sense to marry and raise children in a family setting in her book, ``Love and Economics: It Takes a Family to Raise a Village.''

God knew what he was doing when he put us into families and placed families into communities. The community is there to help the family in raising children but not to take the place of parents except in situations where one or both parents are unable to fulfill this responsibility. Statistically, kids fare better when raised by their mothers and fathers in a family setting. And it makes economic sense, as Roback Morse will testify.

A study by The Heritage Foundation released in April found ``Family fragmentation (e.g. divorce and unwed childbearing) in America costs U.S. taxpayers $112 billion a year and more than $1 trillion per decade.'' This is money spent in programs to help those who fall below the poverty level, a high proportion of which includes single-parent households. The poverty rate for children in single-parent households is approximately 38 percent, compared to 8.1 percent for children in married households. These figures do not include the cost in terms of loss of future earning power for children raised in poorer households who tend not to do as well in school or careers.

In agrarian societies, sons worked alongside their fathers in the field. The industrial revolution removed the father from the home and this close daily contact. Fathers were further removed from their families through divorce and being relegated to weekend parenting. Our jails are filled with men who lack a stable father figure in their life. With the increase of mothers working full-time outside of the home, we have to wonder -- who's watching our children? What will be the result of this social experiment years down the road?

Babies need to be held, cuddled, talked to. They need a gaze to meet their gaze. This helps them develop the part of their brain that forms relationships. They don't fare as well in institutional settings where this may be lacking. Babies without this nurturing not only fail to thrive, but can have severe attachment disorders leading to anti-social behavior.

The family may need the assistance of the village in order to successfully raise responsible adults, but the village definitely needs the family. Families are the building blocks of society. The healthier the family, the healthier the community. As always, God knew what he was doing. Social scientists and economists are finally catching on.

Posted by Betsy

Planned Parenthood Being Sued for Fraud!

A collection of faith-based groups is asking the federal government to investigate allegations that affiliates of Planned Parenthood in California may have fraudulently charged the federal government millions of dollars.

Planned Parenthood receives federal funding through the Title X Family Planning program, a 90-percent Medicaid match for family planning, and a federal program to purchase drugs from manufacturers at a reduced price.

In 2004, state auditors in California began reviewing Planned Parenthood affiliates; however, the audit was stopped after only one review was completed. That review found that Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside counties overbilled the government more than $5.2 million. Ray Ruddy, president of Gerard Health Foundation, is leading the call for the federal investigation.

"Everybody, since Revolutionary times, has been billing the federal government at the cost -- that is the invoice cost to them, plus a fee," Ruddy explains. "Planned Parenthood in California -- and we suspect [other Planned Parenthood agencies] across the country -- has been billing at what they call their normal and customary rates."

Read the rest of the article: http://www.onenewsnow.com/Business/Default.aspx?id=266176

Posted by Betsy

Southern Californians, Come Support Marriage!

Time for the Grassroots to Hit the Pavement!

This Thursday, October 2nd, Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse will be in Los Angeles for the Judiciary Committee hearing on Proposition 8. Dr. J will testify on why California's Same Sex Marriage ruling needs to be overturned. She'll be at the Ronald Reagan Building auditorium, 300 South Spring St. in downtown Los Angeles from 10AM to 12:30 PM.

Southern Californians, here's your chance to stand up and be counted--for marriage!

Civics classes, homeschool families, come for a real world look at the political process. We need you there!

Posted by Betsy

Journeys Through Proposition 8 Land

I have been doing a lot of interviews and speeches in support of Prop 8. I am going to be letting me readers know about some of my adventures in this blog. I want to start with something that happened just today.
This afternoon, I saw an African American man in the parking lot of a Rubio’s restaurant where I was going for lunch. (For those of you who don't know Rubio's: it is a San Diego chain that specializes in fish tacos. Yum!) The man was wearing an Obama t-shirt. I approached him and asked him, “sir, are you planning to vote for Obama? “ He hesitated and said yes, probably. I said, “may I ask you, to please, please consider voting yes on Proposition 8?” He didn’t know what it was. I knew from all the polling that blacks support natural marriage and Prop 8 at higher rates than any other ethnic group. I told him it was the proposition that says marriage is only the union of a man and a woman, and would he please consider voting yes on Prop 8. He said, “I don’t even need to consider it. there is only one way to vote on that.” I thanked him and smiled and went on my way.
African Americans don’t expect social conservatives to be nice to them, even though they are natural allies on many issues. The presidential race is not in play in CA: Obama will win in California, no matter what the Republican Party does. Social conservatives and traditionalists might as well take the opportunity to talk to and work with as many African Americans as possible on the marriage issue, which obviously concerns us all.

A Liberal Democrat Supports Prop 8!

Check out this article published in the LA Times and The New York Times. Blankenhorn writes, "Marriage as a human institution is constantly evolving, and many of its features vary across groups and cultures. But there is one constant. In all societies, marriage shapes the rights and obligations of parenthood."

Read it here!
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-blankenhorn19-2008sep19,0,2093869.story

Are These Stats Right?

Check out this article! On todays front page of the SD Union Tribune it states that 55% of Catholics are in opposition of Prop 8 (the California proposition to protect traditional marriage)!

This is just another indication that we need to be talking about these issues in our churches and with our friends and family. Check out the www.ruthinstitute.org website to find material on how to speak the facts about the Same Sex Marriage issue with confidence!

Read the whole article here:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080918/news_1n18prop8.html

A note...

That last post (and this one) was from Dr. J's friend, Betsy, not Dr. J herself.

Hooray for Dr. J!

In the news: Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse was featured with other supporters (and opposers) of Prop. 8 here in California. The newspaper was the San Diego Union Tribune. Even though our side was outnumbered, the pro-Prop 8ers clearly knew their stuff and did well to promote the message of what true marriage is. Check it out here.

Here's a little taste of it:

Hasn't marriage always been available for couples who don't have children,
for 65-year-olds who want to get married?

MORSE: Yes, It's quite true that not every married couple has children.
But every child has parents. And every child is entitled to a relationship with
both of their parents, and no child is in a position to protect that right on
their own. Adult society has to create institutions to do that.

Ding! Point for our side! Someone has to look out for the children. Those against Prop. 8 seem to forget about them.

And there's lots more where that came from.

I Predicted this....

Those of you who attended my series, Same Sex Marrige Affects Everyone, know that I predicted that same sex marriage would lead to the end of gender in society. Now, as if on cue, there is a story out of California, removing the gendered words for spouses.

"Brides" and "grooms" are no longer allowed to marry in the State of California.

That privilege is only extended to individuals who allow themselves to be called "Party A" and "Party B" on marriage licenses.

Pastor Doug Bird of Abundant Life Fellowship in Roseville, Calif., was alarmed to find the state now rejects the traditional terms after he officiated his first marriage ceremony last week following the California Supreme Court decision to overturn Proposition 22.

The couple had written the words "bride" and "groom" next to "Party A" and "Party B" because they wanted to be legally recognized as husband and wife.

However, the Placer County marriage license was denied.

"I received back the license and a letter from the Placer County Clerk/Recorder stating that the license 'does not comply with California State registration laws,'" Bird said in a statement from the Pacific Justice Institute.

I also predicted that Same Sex Marriage Affects Everyone precisely because one definition of marriage must drive out the other definition. Marriage used to be a child-centered, gendered institution. With same sex marriage in place, marriage is becoming an adult-centered, gender-neutral institution.

3 Minute Clip on Voting in 2008

This is a great commercial that puts voting into prospective for all of us. It is important to prioritize the issues in the upcoming election! The protection of life, family and faith must be at the forefront. Please add your comments about this clip.

It can also be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqzMB-gA6Ro

Sarah Palin

Just for the record, I knew about Sarah Palin before last Friday. I blogged about her new baby in May. "Alaska Governor Looks out for the Little Guy."
here is one of the things I said then:

The Pro-Abortion Left and their allies in the Main Stream Media seldom realize that the pro-life movement is dominated by women, courageous, strong women, like Gov. Palin.

The treatment of Palin by the MSM is disgraceful. But it really shows that they are completely tone-deaf to the vast number of women pro-life leaders.
I'm listening to Rudy Guiliani pumping John McC....