September 15, 2009 by Shane Kastler.

A recent study by Lisa J. Berlin of the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University concluded that children who are spanked are more likely to grow up aggressive than those who aren’t. The study looked at 2500 low income families and came to the conclusion that those who were spanked showed more aggressive behavior one year later, than those who were not. In their opinion the case was closed as they pompously declared that spanking is bad.

Why on earth we even do “studies” like this is beyond me. By now, hasn’t everyone figured out that you can manipulate the social factors into giving you whatever results you want? For example….why did they only choose “low income” families to do the study? Their claim was that it is more likely for “low income families” (white, black, and Mexican) to dole out corporal punishment. If you need the snotty, Duke University, liberals translated for you….what they’re saying is that only dumb, poor rednecks, blacks, and Mexicans still spank children, because rich, uppity, well-educated elites are too brilliant and kind to resort to such discipline. So how do the rich people deal with behavior problems? They drug their kids with Ritalin….problem solved. The basic premise of this study is: spank=bad, drugs=good.

Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I know that in some cases, there is a chemical reason for a kid’s bad behavior. But in ALL cases there is also a spiritual reason for their bad behavior. According to the Bible, parents are to raise their children by “teaching them in the way that they should go” (Proverbs 22:6) …..and by using “the rod” as a means of discipline to reinforce the lessons learned. Make no mistake about it…. “the rod” can be used in an inappropriate fashion. For example, when it’s not used in accordance with “teaching” (I.e., communication) you’re unlikely to have a positive result. And therein lies another flaw with the Duke study.

Did they take into account parents who used spanking as one aspect of their disciplinary measures in a broad system of child-raising? No. They seem to have done everything in their power to find parents (low income) who simply scream and spank, with no training aspect involved. Let’s be honest….how many good, godly parents….who spank their children….are going to allow the high-brow liberals from Duke to “study” them? Not very many. Duke rounded up the group of people who would give them the results they wanted.

Another flaw with this study seems so obvious that one wonders if the Duke Professors honestly thought no one would notice it. The kids spanked at age one were more aggressive at age two. Perhaps they’re getting the cart before the horse. Maybe the REASON they were spanked more is because they’re more aggressive TO BEGIN WITH. In other words….maybe the spanks didn’t cause the aggression…..maybe the aggression was what caused the spanks.

I hope everyone can see this study for what it is…..yet another attempt for academic, intellectual, “experts” (many of whom don’t have children of their own) to tell parents that they know better than them how to raise their children. To liberal scientists, children are nothing more than lab rats which they “study” to make a profit. And often times it’s the “profit” that they have in mind when they cook up garbage such as this. The study was endorsed by the American Association of Pediatricians who have “other discipline techniques” they would like to share. Furthermore, the study’s findings were published in Child Development magazine. Do any of these organizations have anything to gain by parents lovingly disciplining their children? No. Do they anything to gain by having parents put their children on Ritalin? Absolutely. As the pharmaceutical sales increase….so do the goodies that the pharmaceutical companies provide to pediatricians. Not to mention the advertisements they’ll purchase in magazines like Child Development.  This study was driven by two things:  money and a false understanding of man’s sinful nature.  People (kids included) are no inherently good….they’re inherently evil, and must be made good. (Romans 3:10; 23)  The left-leaning academic and scientific community believe the opposite…and consequently their findings on human behavior will always be faulty as a result.

I know that the Bible is the last thing the Duke “experts” want to talk about….but let’s pretend for a moment that God may know more than they do about raising kids. After all, God did “invent” people, so maybe he knows something about it. The Bible teaches “He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” (Proverbs 13:24 NASB) and “Do not hold back discipline from the child, although you strike him with the rod, he will not die. You shall strike him with the rod and rescue his soul from Sheol.” (Proverbs 23:13-14 NASB) God’s Word couldn’t be more clear…or blunt. You can talk all day about how much you “love” your kids….but if you don’t use spanking as apart of their discipline….You aren’t SHOWING THEM LOVE. “Love” doesn’t let a child get away with unruly behavior. “Love” disciplines them. And Godly “love” disciplines them God’s way….with a spank and a word of loving correction.

The second verse is even more sobering. They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. While a parent may withhold spanking out of “love” they may be ushering their child down the road to eternal damnation. If a child isn’t taught early on that there is right and wrong. And rewards and punishment. Then the gospel isn’t going to make much sense to them. You may consider yourself “too nice” to punish them, but God doesn’t. Teach them now. Teach them well. Discipline them God’s way. Ignore the “experts” way. And see how God may bless it.

In conclusion, this study is the biggest joke I’ve seen in some time on the detrimental effects of spanking. When done the right way, spanking is very effective. Yes, there comes a time when kids are too old to spank…but when they’re young, they need “the rod” to reinforce the teaching from mom and dad. Self-proclaimed child genius, Elizabeth Gershoff of the University of Texas states that spanking, “creates a model for using aggression, because spanking is just hitting." Gershoff doesn’t have the foggiest idea what she’s talking about. There’s a big difference between walking up to someone and hitting them…..and sitting a child down, explaining that their defiant behavior is unacceptable, giving them a swat on the rear-end as a reminder, then explaining that you love them too much to let them act like devils. And devils they are, unless taught otherwise. And if they’re not taught otherwise, then they’ll GROW UP to be devils as well. Maybe even “blue devils” from Duke, who waste their life, their time, and your money coming up with hare-brained schemes for raising children….that only lead to their ruin.

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September 10, 2009 by Shane Kastler.

It’s truly frightening to see how any political dissent aimed at Barack Obama is so quickly and fiercely squelched by our nation today. Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, in a moment when there were many squeaks and groans across the hall blurted out two words: “You Lie!” The result has been an overwhelming amount of censure and disdain towards Wilson from Democrats and Republicans alike. So is it no longer allowed to call a liar a liar in our Nation today? The fact that Obama lies on a daily basis is a matter of public record. Remember the promise he made that no lobbyist would be allowed to work in his administration? In fact, his administration if over run with lobbyists. In 2004 Obama stated unequivocally that he would NOT run for President in the next election. Truth or lie? Obama, like most politicians, says whatever he wants to say at the time…then does whatever he wants to do. Honesty means nothing to him. The real tragedy is that we are no longer surprised when political hacks like Obama are caught in a lie. We simply expect it from them. But the outrage over pointing out that a liar is a liar in this case is astounding.

Arlen Specter, the specimen from Pennsylvania was a Democrat when it could further his career…then quickly switched to a Republican when Reagan came to power in 1980….then quickly switched back to Democrat when Obama came to power. A bigger liar doesn’t exist in Washington than Specter, who called for Wilson to be “censured” for his conduct. Are you kidding me? Arlen Specter has the audacity to suggest someone else be censured? Of course Specter is the same man who was outraged when people actually spoke out against him at recent town hall meetings concerning health care, threatening to have police remove vocal dissenters. Specter and his ilk would be much more comfortable in a Soviet style dictatorship where all dissent is destroyed. Apparently all of the Democrats and many of the Republicans in Washington agree.

I assume that most people would claim Wilson’s remarks were out of place in that context. But the spirit of the room had clearly become vocal. Many noises were emanating from the gallery when Wilson blurted out his exclamation. Nancy Pelosi, who with all due respect seems to be the ditzy human in the history of politics, said she considered “gaveling” Wilson for his outburst. I say that’s fine….as long as she gavels any and everyone who claps during Obama’s speech. Or cheers. Or gives a standing ovation….all common forms of “outbursts” during congressional speeches.

The Wilson case makes one thing crystal clear……speaking out against Obama will not be tolerated by the Washington establishment. The boot-licking Democrats in Congress will go along with anything the Obama dictatorship proposes. The media will play along. And often times, even the spineless Republicans will submit and back pedal….rather than stand up and speak out. In very rare exceptions, someone will speak out…..and they’re shouted down so fast it makes their head spin.

Some are saying Wilson’s career is over. Really? For blurting out two measly words….that were accurate at that. You are witnessing the destruction of America before your very eyes. Barack Obama is a radical beyond anything we’ve ever seen; and he has stuffed his administration with unaccountable “czars” who are just as radical as he is….and who none are allowed to question. Open communists now swarm the capital like a pack of mangy dogs. And none are allowed to speak out against them without risking their career. Everyday we churn more rapidly towards a modern day Nazi Germany….with Obama playing the part of the charismatic lunatic Adolph Hitler. Don’t forget that “NAZI” was a nickname for “National Socialist”….which is exactly what Obama is.

Bravo to Joe Wilson for speaking the truth in calling Obama a liar. It may cost him his career….but unlike most in Washington, both Democrat and Republican…..Wilson can say that he spoke the truth….in pointing out the liar.

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September 4, 2009 by Shane Kastler.

I’ve always loved reading Thomas Sowell’s work. His cool-headed, logical, common-sense approach to the world is like a breath of fresh air in our politically correct and deeply twisted world of situational ethics. In his September 1 column, Suicide of the West, Sowell writes on the recent release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi as yet another sign that the West is handing over its civilization to Isalmic extremists with no attempt to defend themselves and see true justice served. Sowell quotes Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who said: "The timid civilized world has found nothing with which to oppose the onslaught of a sudden revival of barefaced barbarity, other than concessions and smiles." Clearly this “concede and smile” approach to terrorism is Barack Obama’s policy. Not to mention his worldwide “apologize for America” tour that he’s been on since taking office.

Obama’s pacifism has been tried and failed before. In the 1930’s British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain famously made concessions to a new, up and coming German leader named Adolph Hitler. But smiles and concessions didn’t work with him. Only bombs, guns, and armies would stop this lunatic bent on world domination. The Obama liberals of the world don’t seem to realize this, and consequently their policies will eventually cripple and kill western civilization if they’re not stopped. There’s a way to deal with bullies…be it in the schoolyard or on the international scene. And common sense Westerners used to know how to do it. Sowell writes:

“Neither the Constitution of the United States nor the Geneva Convention gives rights to terrorists who operate outside the law. There was a time when everybody understood this. German soldiers who put on American military uniforms, in order to infiltrate American lines during the Battle of the Bulge were simply lined up against a wall and shot– and nobody wrung their hands over it. Nor did the U.S. Army try to conceal what they had done. The executions were filmed and the film has been shown on the History Channel. So many "rights" have been conjured up out of thin air that many people seem unaware that rights and obligations derive from explicit laws, not from politically correct pieties. If you don’t meet the terms of the Geneva Convention, then the Geneva Convention doesn’t protect you. If you are not an American citizen, then the rights guaranteed to American citizens do not apply to you. That should be especially obvious if you are part of an international network bent on killing Americans.”

In short, fire must be fought with fire….not international groveling and the release of mass murderers like the Lockerbie bomber for “compassionate reasons.” The unjust judge in Scotland who let him free because of his terminal cancer is simply slapping the face of the families of those whom he killed. They didn’t see a “compassionate” end to the their life, and weren’t allowed to live long enough to get cancer. They were incinerated. If true justice had been served the Lockerbie bomber would have never gotten cancer either. He would have been executed as a criminal against humanity…and as a lesson to other would-be terrorists that if you kill innocent people, we will kill you. That isn’t barbaric…it’s simply common sense justice. And its sorely lacking in our upside-down, right-is-wrong world of today.

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