Daily Headlines | Thursday November 4, 2021

Good Morning! 

Bob Keeshan, otherwise known as “Captain Kangaroo” to another generation, once said: 

 “Parents are the ultimate role models for children. Every word, movement and action have an effect. No other person or outside force has a greater influence on a child than the parent.” 

It would seem many politicians have been committed to wrestling away a portion of that influence – though Tuesday’s election may suggest fewer will try in the future:

Election ’21 Confirms – Mothers and Fathers Matter

Focus on the Family president Jim Daly writes: 

Don’t mess with moms and dads – that’s the prevailing takeaway coming out of yesterday’s two major electoral races, especially in the state of Virginia. 

Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin’s victory over former Governor Terry McAuliffe culminated a bruising campaign, with much of it focused on a rising backlash against the “woke” policies of the radical left.  

At the current time, New Jersey’s gubernatorial race remains too close to call. 

Pundits suggest the turning point of the race in Virginia came when Mr. McAuliffe rejected the idea that moms and dads have a voice in their child’s public-school education.  

“I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,” he stated during the second debate. 

The backlash was unsurprisingly swift, clearly shifting momentum in Mr. Youngkin’s direction.  

Love and care of our children are hardly partisan issues, but when politicians attempt to assume the seat and authority of a mother or father – watch out. Parents are ultimately responsible for their child’s education. When you enroll your child in a public school you’re not surrendering all say in what is being taught or what they’re exposed to during their time in attendance.  

Any politician who tries to usurp moms’ and dads’ authority should be on notice – don’t get too comfortable. Your tenure in elected office will be brief, if you even make it there in the first place.  

Our own boys attended a demanding, principled public charter school here in Colorado Springs. We communicated regularly with school officials throughout their thirteen years. If there were questions about the curriculum or a policy, we received answers, and as parents, we were never made to feel like pariahs.  

At Focus on the Family, we don’t celebrate candidates or political parties – we champion parents and enduring principles. We believe parental rights are sacrosanct. Moms and dads don’t just matter at home – they matter in the classroom and cast a long shadow in a child’s life. 

For Governor-elect Youngkin, the hard work of governing begins. The curriculum of public schools remains a growing concern. New leadership doesn’t solve all ills. There remain institutional challenges and rogue ideologues determined to present a worldview contrary to yours and mine. As parents, we must remain vigilant and involved. 

Please join me in praying for all of our elected and newly elected officials.  

RELATED: 

Youngkin Makes the GOP the Parents’ Party (Wall Street Journal) 

Traditionally Democrats have held the edge over Republicans when it comes to education because they promise to shower schools with money. But Democrats now embrace the subversion of parental authority to further a radical educational agenda. This gives Republicans an opportunity. By helping the GOP to become the parents’ party, Mr. Youngkin’s campaign provides national Republicans a policy playbook that appeals to parents like Marie Mierzejewski. 

James Carville: What went wrong in Virginia was ‘stupid wokeness’ (Fox News) 

“What went wrong is stupid wokeness. Don’t just look at Virginia and New Jersey. Look at Long Island, Buffalo, look at Minneapolis, even look at Seattle, Washington. I mean this ‘defund the police’ lunacy, this take Abraham Lincoln’s name off of schools, people see that. And it really has a suppressive effect on all across the country on Democrats. Some of these people need to go to a woke detox center or something,” Carville said.  

He added “We got to change this and not be about changing dictionaries and change laws.” 

Voters Approve Protections for Churches, Nursing Home Residents in Texas; Minneapolis Rejects Effort to Dismantle Police Department 

From The Daily Citizen: 

Election Day 2021 involved more than just candidates for office in various state races. Ballot initiatives promoting the freedom of religion, public safety and the rights of the elderly were approved by voters in Texas and Minnesota. 

Texas voters considered and approved eight constitutional amendments, including two related to the COVID-19 pandemic and government-declared public emergencies. 

Proposition 3, aka Prop 3, protects churches and other religious organizations from closures and other attendance restrictions imposed by state government officials or agencies in response to public emergency declarations. With over a million votes counted, Prop 3 passed by a margin of 63% to 37%. 

Proposition 6, aka Prop 6, allows residents of nursing homes and skilled care facilities to designate a family member or other caregiver who cannot be denied visitation even during pandemic restrictions or other public emergencies. The measure was approved by a wide margin, 88% to 12%. According to The Texas Tribune, the measure came in response to the pandemic experience of seeing elderly patients isolated from family members for months at a time. 

On the subject of public safety, Minneapolis voters rejected a city charter amendment that would have dismantled its police department and instead created a “Department of Public Safety.” The initiative came in response to last year’s death of George Floyd, an African American, at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer.  

3.   Virginia Shows Conservatives Don’t Need to Shy away from Abortion 

From National Review: 

A CNN exit poll found that while 86 percent of McAuliffe voters wanted abortion to be legal in all cases and 64 percent in most cases, 88 percent of Youngkin voters thought the procedure should be illegal in all cases and 84 percent in most cases.  

This mirrors other polling on abortion, which has long shown that while most don’t want to ban abortion outright, they don’t support the Left’s position that the procedure should be legal in all cases until crowning. There are strong moral and rational arguments to be made against that kind of barbarism. But, at the very least, McAuliffe and his allies continually amplified Youngkin’s position — opposition to abortion in all cases other rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother — and yet it didn’t seem to do any damage. 

4.   Biden says families separated at the border under Trump won’t receive $450,000 

From CNN: 

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that families separated at the border under the Trump administration’s so-called zero-tolerance policy will not receive payments of $450,000, but he did not go into detail about any possible monetary settlements for them. 

Biden, following remarks about Covid-19 vaccine authorization for children ages 5 to 11, was asked if payments of that size might incentivize people to try and enter the country illegally. The President responded by calling the report “garbage.” 

“It’s not true,” he said. 

5.   ‘A glimpse of heaven’: Lessons we can learn from those with Down syndrome 

From the Christian Post: 

“What was the best day of your life?” This is a question many of us have been asked at some point. We list milestones — graduations, weddings, births. But for those with Down syndrome, often what we see is something different — joy that sees beyond milestones and embraces the richness of each day.    

“Until you see and live with a child with Downs, you are missing out,” Stephanie asserts. Recalling a time when she took Clementine to get a Coke, Stephanie says, “For Clementine, it was like Christmas morning … seeing the joy she had over that Coke and the straw she got to use.”   

Genesis 1:27 tells us that we are all created in God’s image. Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that He formed us in the womb and knew and consecrated us, before we were born.  

Those with special needs can teach us how to prioritize life, embrace the joy of every moment, and appreciate God’s plan for us. 

6.   Be the Dad You Never Had 

From the Gospel Coalition: 

A broken family leaves a broken identity. I’m hardly alone in this experience. One in four children live without a father in the home, which raises the question: what are fathers for? If you asked a hundred dads, you might hear a hundred answers. Jon Tyson—pastor of Church of the City New York—tackles this question in The Intentional Father: A Practical Guide to Raise Sons of Courage and Character. 

Tyson sketches out five types of fathers: 

irresponsible fathers 
ignorant fathers 
inconsistent fathers 
involved fathers 
intentional fathers 

What separates the intentional father from the rest is that he takes time to understand his son’s unique personality—and tailors his parenting to fit his son. It moves beyond “this is the right thing to do” to “this is right for you.” As a result, Tyson’s book isn’t a step-by-step guide—but he gives the framework for thinking through how to raise your son intentionally. 

7.   Trail Life USA and Dr. Tony Evans Partner with Promise Keepers to Bring You a Unique ‘Fatherhood Summit’ 

From CBN: 

Promise Keepers, a Christ-centered organization dedicated to helping men grow in their Christian faith, is launching a 14-day fatherhood challenge this month to help dads strengthen their family bonds. 

The “Fatherhood Summit” kicks off on Nov. 10 with a LIVE online event. The summit will continue on the Promise Keepers app for 14 days where participants will be offered useful ways to apply what they’re learning. 

And CBN News will be airing the kickoff event for the “Fatherhood Summit” here on the CBN Newschannel on November 10 at 8 p.m. EST. 

Trail Life USA CEO Mark Hancock and Dr. Tony Evans are partnering with Promise Keepers to offer encouragement while connecting with the men through discussion.  

8.   Toxic Positivity Is Very Real, and Very Annoying 

From the Wall Street Journal: 

Sometimes the worst thing you can say to a person who’s feeling bad is: “Cheer up!” 

Always look on the bright side of life? 

Heck, no. 

Pushing away difficult emotions, such as sadness or fear, and forcing ourselves or others to be positive can be harmful to our mental well-being and our relationships, psychologists say. This is because practicing false cheerfulness—which they call “toxic positivity”—keeps us from addressing our feelings, and the feelings of others. 

Yes, cultivating a positive mindset is a powerful coping mechanism, especially in tough times. But positivity needs to be rooted in reality for it to be healthy and helpful. 

“Toxic positivity is positivity given in the wrong way, in the wrong dose, at the wrong time,” says David Kessler, a grief expert and the author of six books about grief, including his latest, “Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief.” 

It sounds like this: “Cheer up!” “Don’t worry!” “Stop focusing on the negative!” “Try to have a better attitude!” 

We’re all guilty of it. Many of us were taught as children to banish so-called bad feelings—to pick ourselves up when we fall, stop complaining and count our blessings. And our fix-it-fast culture reinforces the message that to be positive is to succeed. (Just consider the phrase “winning attitude.”) 

9.   The clock clash: 19 states seeking to make daylight saving time year-round 

From USA Today: 

Daylight saving time comes to an end on Sunday, so it’s time to “fall back” by setting our clocks behind one hour.  

But if you’re tired of changing your clocks twice a year, there could be some hope on the horizon to keep it lighter later throughout the year. 

“In the last four years, 19 states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to provide for year-round daylight saving time, if Congress were to allow such a change, and in some cases, if surrounding states enact the same legislation,” Jim Reed of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) told USA TODAY. 

The 19 states are: Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, Wyoming, Arkansas, Delaware, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, Florida and California.  

“Opinions remain mixed on the benefits of permanent daylight time versus permanent standard time,” Reed wrote in a blog post on the National Conference of State Legislatures website. “The Internet is rife with sites extolling both sides of the debate. That said, states continue to vote in favor of year-round DST as the new normal.” 

Still, the actual March and November time changes are almost universally reviled because of all the accompanying adjustments we must make, such as coming home from work in the dark and the slower-than-expected resetting of our internal time clocks, the NCSL said.  

Worldwide, more than 70 countries observe daylight saving time. It’s known as summer time in some countries, including the United Kingdom and in Europe. 

The Secrets to a 75 Year Marriage, from the oldest ‘Holocaust Surviving Couple’ 

From The Forward: 

Sam and Frieda Weinreich are thriving. Sam is 102-years-old and Frieda is 97. They have been married 75 years. If they are not the oldest Holocaust-surviving couple in the United States, as local Memphis news reports claim, they are certainly in the running. 

Both Sam and Frieda, who still speak Yiddish to each other, were active in the Memphis Jewish community. Sam has sung the “Partisan Song” and “Ghetto Song” for nearly 60 years at the annual Yom HaShoah commemoration. 

From the dark pit of horror and despair, Sam and Frieda blossomed. They raised five children and now have many grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

The secret to a long marriage after such a traumatic beginning? 

“Everyone has ups and downs,” said Frieda of their marriage, “we kept the ups up and the downs down!” 

“She likes green grapes, I like red,” said Sam. “I like poached eggs, she likes deviled. If one person has a hot temper, the other has to have a cool temper. I’m not going to tell you we didn’t have any misunderstandings. But one of us always has to forget what happened yesterday.” 

“After what we went through, I never thought I’d survive — but to get married and have children, the Man upstairs is watching over me,” Frieda added. “Thank God, we have a beautiful family. That’s the most important.”