Poor Tim Kaine

So right now Tim Kaine (VA's lousy governor) is doing an easy listening tour. He is going to select audiences around the state and trying to explain why he won't sign the transportation bill the general assembly finally passed. So right now he's finishing up speaking to a bunch of elementary students, democratic politicians, and the press. These are not town hall events. i.e. the audience can't ask questions. About seven republicans showed up to peaceably demonstrate, and no democrats came out to support the governor. Our ultra left state senator drove by us, and the minority leader and the governor drove by in a state trooper motorcade. The two of them just smiled but you could see a tad bit of worry in their eyes. Roanoke City is one of the few democrat strongholds in South West VA, and we figure the big wigs wer eall on their black berries wondering why they didn't have any supporters. At 3:30 the governor is supposed to be at UVA for a similar closed door event. Maybe he'll get a similar response. No support.

Boy, it was fun getting back into the political swing of things. Can't wait to move to Richmond and really get working as we work to solidify the majority in the General Assembly.

Amazing Grace Update

I lnow that y'all are probably sick of my posts on Amazing Grace now. Three posts in a row on the same news subject should be outlawed! Maybe not. Please bear with me tomorrow I will make a really important personal post which hopefully won't shock to many people.

A few quick coments:

Amazing grace was a very inspiring film. It is almost impossible to leave the theater without being remotivate to being a Christian IN the world... an active involved Christian trying to improve the culture for Christ. I strongly encourage everyone to go see it, and a big thanks to those who did.

The film played in a little over 700 theaters and made 4-5 million. At that rate, if it had actually been playing everywhere (3,000 theaters) it would have made over 16 mill. The Christian films should be put in more theaters, otherwise it is impossible to make a lot of money and reach a lot of people.

But, the fact that Amazing Grace is a low budget small release film is a good thing, maybe it will get an Oscar nomination next year.

Think Think

Duh it can't. It's not a leftist propaganda piece. If you don't believe that leftist propaganda pieces win in Hollywood over excellent films that make a lot of money, explain to me how Happy Feet got the Oscar for best animated film instead of Cars.

Movie Review

Movie review of "Amazing Grace" by Michael P. Farris:

The life of William Wilberforce is a constant inspiration to those who believe that a person committed to a living relationship with Jesus
Christ can make a difference in our culture.  The soon-to-be-released motion picture "Amazing Grace" faithfully tells this gripping story in
a manner that will inspire thousands of men, women, and children to follow his example of sacrificial Christian service.

Make no mistake, this is a first-class motion picture in every respect.  The acting and cinematography are superb.  But it is the
story that carries the day.  It is a story of the triumph of good over evil.  It is a story that shows how a godly wife can inspire a godly
man who is struggling to carry on the fight against all odds.  And much more.

You will want to know that there are a handful of mild swear words in the movie.  (God's name is not used in vain.)

Far too often the idea of a Christian movie is something that is second rate but that we should see anyway because it is good for us.
This is not that kind of Christian movie.  In fact, it would be best described as a great movie and about a great man who was a faithful
Christian.

If you are looking for something to spark the imagination of your children (or yourself) to do great things for God, get to the opening
weekend of "Amazing Grace."

For Christ and for Liberty,

Michael P. Farris, Esq.
Chairman & General Counsel
Cofounder of Home School Legal Defense Association

Amazing Grace

Before I actually talk about the movie, here's some of what I've been doing activist wise the past few weeks.

For the past nine months I have been following the movie "Amazing Grace" amazinggracemovie.com. The more I have found out about it the more I have wanted to see it. All the trailers and clips are truly inspiring, and I have been anticipating the release for months. The two weeks ago the website had a list of all the theaters in which the film would be playing. To my complete dismay Roanoke (the biggest city in South West VA) was nowhere on the list. The closest place was Charlottesville VA (2 hrs. away). While I was more than willing to travel that far to see the film, I didn't want to have to. So I called the toll free number on the website, and they said if they got enough calls from the area they would put it on in Roanoke. I immediately called one of my friends, and we mobilized a bunch of our friends to contact their churches and call the toll free number with the number of interested people. That was a Thursday and I left for TeenPact on Monday. So my friends kept working hard and when I got back a petition was circulating and we were presuring our local christian radio station to help us out. Luckily that didn't need to come to fruition .

::Sorry for the Break I had to Get Off the Computer and Just Posted What I had so Far::

On Monday we learned that Amazing Grace would be playing in Roanoke. In just twelve days a group of eight boys (with the blessing of God) brought Amazing Grace to Roanoke. A little bit of organized activism can go a long way.

For a review of the film by someone who saw an advance screning, go here and read the February 9th post.
Forr some good articles on the move check out these links:

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/12696
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/12703
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/12700

Be sure to go to this movie when it opens in select theaters on this weekend beginning friday, february 23.
if the movie makes a good box office showing that night, other theaters
will join in showing it. go to the website above, watch the trailer,
find your local showing and then buy tickets.

P.S. My friend is Stephen Williams.  That's why he couldn't come to TeenPact.

P.P.S. I still need help with my P.S. from the previous article.

P.P.P.S. My friends and I don't want any thanks, just a big opening weekend.  I'm hoping the film makes at least
$20mill.  That would make it by far the highest grossing Christian film since Narnia. 

TeenPact and Applying it

Last week was TeenPact. It has been a staple of my spring semester for four years now. I'm going to miss it, but anyway... TeenPact is not just for political junkies, although they definitely love it. TeenPact is for everyone. It teaches how we are to apply a Christian worldview to every aspect of our lives and how we can be knowledgeable involved citizens. These are things everyone need to learn no matter what field you are planning on going in to. Also, it will be one of the funnest days of your life. The teaching is taught in such a fun, interactive, and hands on way. With Bill Jack and Jonathan Morris there how could it not?


one of the best moments at camp. Bill Jack had the ugly tie contest every day, and one day, he won it. Oh Yeah!!


my awesone GLT committee(Gumbo Lettuce and Tomato, or was it General Laws and Technology) Y'all rocked

Kate: Thank you for your advice after graduation, I very well may do it.

Elijah: Your devotional really was excellent

David B.: Thank you for being a great committee leader, and room dad. Also, thanks for giving me permission to use your photos. (I'll post my own soon.)

For all the rest of the interns and staff who made the week so special I can only say....


Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhh!!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow!!


P.S. If I have a windows media player file, how do I make it play as background music on my site while your looking at the site?

Shameless promo: for more info about TeenPact in general go to teenpact.com. For more info about this past week go to the TeenPacters of VA blogring and most everybody has posted something.

Now I know what to say...

First of all a big thank you to for your advice.

Here goes...

Introvert/Extrovert: The unanimous consensus is that I'm an extrovert, and y'all are definitely right. I'm not the center of attention of a crowd like some I know, but sheesh if you campaign as much as I do you have to be an extrovert. Shortly after the whole "n" word story broke about George Allen, I was at a black heritage festival passing out lit for the senator, and debaters are definitely extroverts. If you're shy when you start debating, a lot of that will go away as you continue.

Pessimist/Optimist: I consider myself an optimistic realistic. Whenever I look at the future I see a very dire situation, but I am confident that the Christian youth in this country, led by God, will reclaim our land. Here is another example... Last fall I knew we were in for a difficult midterm election, everyone knew that, but at about 7 or 8 on election night I told evedyah that I was looking forward to the red wave that was about to sweep over the country. I see things for what they are, but I refuse to resign myself to an evil future so I call myself an optimistic realist.

Favorite color: I don't really have a favorite color, although I have favorite color combinations. Two of them would be blue and orange (mets.com) and blue and gold (generationjoshua.org)

Taste in music: Country, especially the patriotic country, a little classical, and some contemporary christian. I love Michael Card, and Steve Green. I also like Relient K, and two of Casting Crowns songs, "And if we are His Body" and "What if His People Prayed?" really are excellent.

Organized/disorganized: Let's leave it at this, I'm disorganized.

Passive/aggressive: I'm aggressive, not in a mean intimidating way (I hope), but I like to get things done. I'll let y'all know about something I did in a later post.

Fashion: I like to dress up when called for, but I love decdent casual. Nice jeans and a warm fleece are awesome in the winter. And a pair of shorts and a nice shirt fit me just fine in summer. Now the accusation was raised that I look nerdy on political campaigns. Why not if it helps you stay relaxed, and win?


Learning style: slow but steady wins the race. Right? Well... not quite I like to learn and I'm not to certain about the answer to this one, but I definitely enjoy learning in groups with thoughtful discussions.

Enjoy... Thanks for commenting, and I love my friends.

Just Because We Can Homeschool Doesn't Mean We Should be indifferent to the Plights of Others!!

February 5, 2007

HSLDA--German Homeschooled Child Sentenced to a Child Psychiatry Unit

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:

The situation for homeschoolers in Germany is getting worse each week.
Just last Thursday, a 17-year-old homeschooled girl was forcibly
removed from her parent's custody by over 15 police officers. The
homeschooled girl has been placed in the child psychiatry unit of the
Nuremberg clinic.

Homeschooling is not legal in Germany. There are over 40 cases
currently in court or being appealed. Christian families are fleeing
Germany for safety in nearby countries. The unconscionable treatment
of sincere and faithful Christian homeschool families is a sad legacy
from Germany's past. Homeschooling was first banned under Adolf
Hitler, and that ban is still enforced today.

Many families who have had their children forcibly taken from their
home each day and taken to government school have since fled Germany,
but there are still some homeschoolers. The latest incident involves
17-year-old Melissa Busekros, the girl sent to the Nuremberg
psychiatry unit. What is being done to this sensitive girl--just to
set an example of enforcing the compulsory schooling at all costs--is
reprehensible and causing trauma to unassuming and lovable Melissa.

In the summer of 2005, when Melissa was 15, she was told she would
have to repeat the seventh grade at the government school because she
was failing math and Latin. She had good grades in the rest of her
classes, so her parents tutored her at home for those two subjects.
When the school officials found out they were angry and then expelled
Melissa, so the family began to homeschool full time.

However, the Youth Welfare office then took the family to court
because they were homeschooling. Then, on Tuesday, January 30, 2007,
social workers and police officers came to the Busekros home and
forcibly took Melissa to the child psychiatric unit where she was
questioned for four hours before she was returned home. Then two days
later, 15 police officers and social workers came to the Busekros home
and took Melissa away from her parents by force and placed her in the
child psychiatric unit.

According to Melissa's father, Hubert Busekros, this treatment was
justified by the psychiatrist's finding two days previously that
Melissa was supposedly developmentally delayed by one year and that
she suffered from school phobia.

Nevertheless, one organization concerned with education expressed
outrage at the treatment of Melissa Busekros.

"The Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit [the Network for Freedom of Education]
condemns this inconsiderate and totally incommensurate behavior on the
part of the officials involved and demands that they give Melissa her
freedom and return her to her family immediately," the group was
quoted in an article on its website. To view the site, as well as more
information and a photograph of the Busekros family, go to
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3697 .

ACTION

We ask you to take a moment and do two things: First, call or email 
the German Embassy and give them this message:

"We are shocked to hear of the Busekros' homeschooled daughter Melissa 
being removed from the custody of her parents and being placed in a 
child psychiatric unit. This is an outrage that hearkens back to the 
Nazi era. We cannot believe a free nation would put a homeschooled 
child in a psychiatric ward for 'school phobia.' The attack on the 
homeschool families throughout Germany must stop."

The German Embassy can be contacted at: 

Dr. Klaus Scharioth
Ambassador
German Embassy
4645 Reservoir Road NW
Washington, DC, 20007-1998
(202) 298-4000

The embassy can be emailed from its website: 
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3696 .

Second, pray for the German situation. Only God can change the 
situation for homeschoolers in Germany. Attempts by German 
homeschoolers to organize or to change the laws through court continue 
to be lost, but with God all things are possible. We ask that you cry 
out for the German homeschool families. 

BACKGROUND

German parents have been fighting for the right to homeschool for the
last seven or more years. However, all efforts have failed in the face
of the stubborn German government and their official response that
they cannot "allow a counterculture to exist."

We believe the hope for Germany will be via the international pressure
bearing down so that they abandon their witch-hunt after homeschoolers
and their terrible treatment of these innocent families.

Homeschoolers remaining in Germany are hoping to legalize
homeschooling in one state and thereby make a safe-haven for
homeschoolers. However, the German homeschoolers are so few and the
attacks so intense that it is hard to make any progress in this area.

If you wish to assist the Germans in their struggle for homeschool
freedom, or with many other struggling countries, you can donate to
HSLDA's international fund via the Home School Foundation at
http://www.homeschoolfoundation.org/ .

Your donation will be used to meet the homeschooling needs in Germany.
After meeting the known homeschooling needs in this country, if there
are remaining funds, this money will be transferred to the
Foundation's International Fund to meet homeschooling needs in other
countries.

Thank you for standing with these families and taking a moment to
assist them.

Sincerely,

Christopher J. Klicka
HSLDA Senior Counsel
Director of State and International Relations

Cool Videos

This is one of the most patriotic movie videos I've seen. It made me cry.

::WARNING:: AFTER THE FIRST SONG CUT IT OFF. I CAN NOT ENDORSE THE LANGUAGE OF THE SECOND SONG ALTHOUGH I DEFINITELY UNDERSTAND THE SENTIMENT::

In other news, I'm simultaneously in the seventh heaven (almost) and wondering over the future. Tell y'all why later.

TeenPact's in one week. I absolutely can't wait.

While I wasn't their my thoughts were with you. Region Nine, y'all rock. Congratulations Jason, and Nichols/Escobar. McNair you really deserve it. Keep it up everyone, and show the nation what this region is made of again at nats.

Also, I finally found an awesome version of one of the best songs. I've been looking for a copy of this song since I first heard it at the PHC History TLC in the summer of 2004. http://youtube.com/watch?v=8e1qC-yFUj4

Shameless Free Advertisement

If you enjoy following politics, one great news source is the GenJ blog. You should all check it out and leave D. Price some comments.