Paul Ryan Articulately Defends Homeschooling

Paul Ryan articulately defends homeschooling in this Florida event.  If you are a homeschooler, voting for someone who is willing to voice support for your right to educate as you choose should be  comforting.

Teiro Cuccinelli: A Stay at Home Wife and Mother

In a day and age when our culture pressures women to pursue careers and find a sense of purpose from their job, Teiro Cuccinelli models the opposite for Virginia women. As Ken Cuccinelli's wife and the mother of seven kids, Teiro has dedicated her life to raising the children and supporting her husband. Her home is her "first priority." As a wife and mother she exudes grace and strength. Their children show that she has done quite a job raising them. We need more women like Teiro in our state. One of the many blessings of having Ken as attorney general is that the state can glimpse the value and importance of women who choose to make their home their "first priority."

Al Bedrosian for Roanoke Co. Republican Chairman

Al Bedrosian, homeschool dad, Republican nominee for House of Delegates in 1999, and longtime Roanoke area activist, is running for chairman of the Roanoke County Republican Committee. Al Bedrosian was an early and vocal supporter of Sen. Ralph Smith's successful primary challenge against Brandon Bell, a committed pro-life activist, and someone who is unafraid to challenge the party structure when it is capitulating on our conservative beliefs. He has also been a leader in the Roanoke area homeschool community. This is the kind of person we need running the Roanoke Co. Republican Committee. I would encourage you to read his announcement letter, and vote for him on April 15th.

What would be a better way to celebrate tax day then electing a principled constitutional conservative to chair the Roanoke County Committee? Conservatives, Tea Partiers, homeschoolers, disenchanted voters; this is your chance to do something to make a difference

_______________________________________

Because I have a strong interest in our political system and government, I have decided to be a candidate for Chairman of the Roanoke County Republican Party. This election will be held on Thursday, April 15th, (registration begins at 6pm – the meeting starts promptly at 7pm). If you are a registered voter in Roanoke County, I need your vote. You do not have to be a republican or part of the republican party. You just have to be a registered voter in Roanoke County. (If you live in Botetourt – see note below.)

I have decided to be a candidate because I think most of the problems facing our great state and country are because Christian conservatives are unwilling to take a stand. I think the liberals/socialist in America are doing exactly what they should be doing – they are attacking the Christian/Constitutional foundation of this country. And they are doing it because they oppose what it stands for. But where are those that believe in the Christian foundation of America – and believe in freedom? Well, that is why I want to re-energize the Republican party to be what it should be --- it needs to stand for solid Christian / Constitutional principles and it needs to hold its own accountable. We have come to idolize our politicians instead of making sure they are protecting the constitution. We need to educate Americans on why socialism does not work and why our founding fathers set up the best form of government this world has ever seen. We need to get back to a time of personal responsibility and accountability and let the free markets take care of the economy, let the churches and local communities take care of the poor, and we as citizens need to be responsible for ourselves and our families and stop looking to the government for help. When we look to the government to provide more security in every aspect of our lives we lose more freedom. The time is NOW to strengthen the Republican party and hold it accountable to the Constitution. I want to do my part in making this a reality. I want to help find candidates that we can be excited about and not always have to chose the lesser of two evils.

The Mass meeting to elect the Roanoke County Republican chairman will be held on Thursday, April 15th at the Roanoke County Administration Building on Route 419 in Southwest County (near the Shoney’s and Rigazzis - 5204 Bernard Drive, Roanoke, VA 24018). Registration starts at 6pm -- The doors will close at 7pm to start the meeting (with no exceptions allowed). If you are not registered and seated at this time you will not be able to vote. I suggest that you arrive no later than 6:30 to register. This is a great experience to see how our form of government really works from the ground up. Bring your family.

Please email me and let me know if I can count on you for your vote at this meeting. Please pass this email note to your friends!

NOTE: If you live in Botetourt County– the meeting to elect a Republican chairman is on Tuesday, April 20th – I am supporting the current chairman, Doug Gimbert – let me know if you would be able to attend and vote for him.

Thanks

Al Bedrosian

rvhr@cox.net

The UN CRC will Almost Eliminate Gun Ownership

Earlier this week I explained how the Obama administration was beginning to push the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is a dangerous international treaty that will strike a devastating blow at American sovereignty.

Besides being used to undermine the ability to homeschool, the UN CRC will also undermine private gun ownership in America. Because the UN CRC is a self executing treaty, the UN interprets and applies it. People that advocate the UN CRC and its authors are clear that they believe gun ownership is dangerous for children.

And now we learn one more aspect of this charming treaty: guns.

Yes, guns. To put it bluntly, if you live in a community with children – and who doesn't? – you shouldn't have guns.

Allegedly the CRC's justification is to keep kids from becoming child soldiers in third-world countries. No argument from me. Afghanistan could use some lessons in raising kids.

But if the U.S. ratifies the CRC, then we must accept the UN's position to "believe, teach and promote the idea that all private gun ownership is dangerous for children, and children have the right to grow up in a community that is free from all guns" (emphasis added).

Those at the UN don't just believe in taking guns out of homes where childrens live, they believe they shouldn't be present in communities in which their are children. This is nothing short of an attempt to eliminate gun ownership. Dr. Michael Farris makes this very clear in his article "The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child:The Impact on Private Gun-Ownership in America." In the article he analyzes statements by the UN on children and gunownership. These statements include,

• In communities enjoying relative peace, children witness and are traumatized by the use of small arms and light weapons in domestic violence and in disputes. Children also become accidental victims because adults fail to keep the weapons out of their reach.
• Efforts must be ongoing to overcome the destructive messages that small arms and light weapons are essential instruments for survival and protection in daily life.
• Regulations are needed to ensure that small arms and light weapons are not easy to acquire and are never accessible to children.
• Explore enacting bans on all handguns to civilians or certain cheap models that are attractive to youth

He points out that,

"Two crucial conclusions can be drawn from these assertions:

First, the UN intends to address far more than children in war; the object is to eliminate the “threat” posed by guns from the lives of all children whether their community is characterized as “in conflict,” “post-conflict,” “destabilized,” or “enjoying relative peace.” Guns are a threat “on the streets of cities worldwide.”

Second, the UN contends that the threat posed by guns violates the “human rights” of children."

and concludes that,

If the United States Senate ratifies the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child we will have become willing parties in a regime that obligates us to disarm our citizens, keep guns from children, and indoctrinate American children to believe in the utopia of world disarmament. This will cause our nation to surrender our own defenses and rest in the “security” of a world based on “individual and collective rights.”

Please join us in making it clear to the senate and the Obama administration that we believe in gun rights, and the UN CRC should not be adopted.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child Endangers Homeschooling

Recently Obama launched a trial balloon on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. I would like to take this opportunity to explore what the UN CRC will do if it is implemented. Probably the threat from the UN CRC that is nearest to my heart is the impact it will have on homeschooling. The whole thrust of the UN CRC is to in sure parents aren't forcing children to do things they don't want to do. Under this theory if a parent decides to homeschool their child, and the child is wholeheartedly for it, then the parents are in legal trouble.

The UN CRC is already being interpreted in this way against homeschoolers in Britain. Britain might see homeschooling abolished as a result of the UN CRC.

Last week the Children’s Secretary of Britain accepted a report in full by Graham Badman which argues for an end to homeschool freedom. “While it’s disgraceful that the British government would even entertain this report it’s particularly troubling for American parents because the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was used as the justification for this action,” said Michael Farris, Chairman of HSLDA and President of ParentalRights.org.

The Badman report uses Articles 12 and 29 of the UNCRC to justify registering the estimated 80,000 homeschooling families in Britain, forcing them to provide annual reports regarding their homeschool, granting government officials the right to enter the home and interview the children alone as well as reserving the choice of curriculum to the state.
HSLDA has been warning that the UNCRC could bring an end to homeschool freedom in the U.S., if the treaty was ever ratified by the U.S. Senate because Article VI of the U.S. Constitution says that treaties become the supreme law of the land.

I hope you will join me in opposing the UN CRC. Please take a moment to tell Obama and your senator to oppose the UN CRC.

Recent Washington Times Article about Homeschoolers in Politics

In the June 15th edition of the Washington Times on page A17 an article was published about homeschoolers in politics that talked about Generation Joshua. The article is republished below.

Home-schoolers take plunge into politics

Liz Essley THE WASHINGTON TIMES

At 17, home-schooler Tyler Fehrman was the youngest paid member of the John McCain presidential campaign. In the last five years, he's worked on 18 political campaigns in five states. Now, at 18, he is running for an at-large seat on the Mount Vernon, Ohio, City Council.

"My dream for some day is to be the governor of Ohio," he said. "But you gotta start somewhere and take it one stage at a time."

Mr. Fehrman, who finished his schooling in May and plans to attend Mount Vernon Nazarene University this fall, represents the forefront of a growing trend: home-schoolers who are actively involved in politics in their communities.

"I think it's definitely a growing trend," Mr. Fehrman said. "Here in Ohio we have a network of about 200 home-schooled students who are avidly active in politics all the time."

Mr. Fehrman's circle runs even larger. Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, said evidence shows that both home-schooling parents and their children are more civically involved than the general populace. His 2004 study of more than 7,000 home-schooled adults showed that home-schoolers were more likely to vote, volunteer for political campaigns, participate in boycotts or write letters to the editor.

Although there is no way to confirm the numbers, Mr. Ray estimates that growing numbers of students -- about 2 million -- are now learning at home.

Home-school political activism manifests itself in such groups as Christian youth organization Generation Joshua, designed to educate students in civics. Founded in 2004 as an offshoot of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, the organization now has about 6,000 student members nationwide, an estimated 70 percent of whom are home-educated.

Although Generation Joshua itself is nonpartisan, members often actively campaign for political candidates.

"We consider our mission to be to give the young people the training, knowledge and inspiration to get involved. And then they go and work on the campaigns," said the director of Generation Joshua, William Estrada, also a lawyer and home-school graduate.

Mr. Estrada recognizes political activism as a growing trend in home schooling, but said it was not necessarily new. Both he and Mr. Ray pointed out that many states still outlawed home education at the birth of the modern home-school movement in the 1980s. This forced home-schooling parents to petition state and local government for the freedom to teach their children.

Mr. Ray said the nature of home schooling also draws parents who are firm in their beliefs.

"Just by choosing home education, they're, in a sense, activists. It's not unusual for them to get involved," he said.

He also noted that although home-schoolers' beliefs are important to them, those beliefs are not necessarily uniform -- home-schoolers could not be characterized as liberal or conservative. The most common thread, Mr. Ray said, was a "classical liberal perspective," a government-hands-off attitude.

Mr. Fehrman, who calls himself a Reagan conservative, said home schooling not only gave him the flexibility to be heavily involved in campaigns, but also gave his parents the ability to instill in him a strong biblical worldview.

Seventeen-year-old Daniel Oberlander, a home-schooler in Lovettsville, Va., and a member of Generation Joshua, said his parents raised him to care about politics and the right to vote.

He has helped register voters and made calls for political candidates.

On Election Day last year, Mr. Oberlander stood on a street corner with a group of Generation Joshua students, waving McCain signs.

A car drove up to the stoplight. The driver signaled for Mr. Oberlander and his friend to come over.

"Hey, where are all the Obama kids?" the driver asked from his rolled-down window.

Mr. Oberlander's friend replied: "They probably slept in."

Why I Support Bob McDonnell for Governor

I was looking over my blogposts and realized I have not written much about why I support Bob McDonnell. This is largely a result of the fact that he had an uncontested nomination and did not need any support or defending in the lead up to the convention. However, I think it is important that we as conservatives rally behind Bob McDonnell for governor. He has a track record that while not perfect is very impressive. Below I seek to highlight Bob McDonnell's record as a social conservative.

As a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, Bob McDonnell was responsible for some of Virginia’s key family values legislation in the 1990’s. By 1995 attempts to pass a parental notification law had failed in the state senate Virginia for 18 years. As a result of Bob McDonnell’s leadership and hard work it became law. As a delegate Bob McDonnell also helped pass Virginia’s partial birth abortion ban, a resolution upholding marriage as between one man and woman, and fought hard for home schoolers and choice in education. As a result of his hard work Bob McDonnell was named the VA Legislator of the year in 1998 and 2001 by the Virginia Family Foundation

As Attorney General, Bob McDonnell has continued his record of fighting for traditional values. When the Virginia Marriage Amendment was up for a vote in 2006 Bob McDonnell actively supported it and published a brief which refuted many of the criticisms of the amendment. In May of 2008 the US 4th Circuit Court of appeals ruled the Virginia partial birth abortion law unconstitutional. Instead of simply yielding to the judiciary, Attorney General Bob McDonnell successfully filed a brief asking the court to review its decision. On the issue of religious freedom HSLDA has worked hard to pass a Religious Freedoms Restoration Act in Virginia. For a couple years it was unsuccessful, but when the Attorney General’s office testified in favor of it, it passed. Not only has Bob McDonnell fought hard for traditionally social conservative issues, Bob McDonnell has also fought to limit the size of government. Bob McDonnell established the Attorney General’s Task Force on Regulatory and Government Reform. This group created a list of over 250 specific regulations and policies Virginia should cut in order to reduce the size of the state government. As Attorney General Bob McDonnell continued what he did in the House of Delegates, working hard for the values that we hold dear.

Bob McDonnell does not claim to be a conservative because it is politically convenient; he has a proven track record of fighting hard for our shared values. If you believe in the sanctity of life, strong families, religious freedom, homeschooling, or limited government, I hope you will join me in working hard to see Bob McDonnell elected our next governor over the next five months. We have an opportunity in Bob McDonnell to gain ground on many important conservative issues. With Bob McDonnell as governor we will have a friend in the governor’s mansion who will work tirelessly on behalf of the issues we hold dear.

Cuccinelli's Convention Victory

Senator Cuccinelli is now the Attorney General nominee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He was elected with 57% of the vote at the convention last Saturday.

This was a moment of triumph for the conservative wing of the RPV. We saw the Virginia's conservative champion in the state senate nominated to run for state wide office. Another thing we saw was the social conservatives and the liberty Caucus/Ron Paul supporters unite to give Ken the nomination. We united behind Ken not because we wanted someone who could get elected in November (though he will) or someone who won't offend people. We united behind Ken because he has spent his career articulating and fighting for the things we hold dear.

Another important aspect in this race is the part homeschoolers played in this nomination contest. Lynn Mitchell summarized it well on her blog.

To say the Virginia home school community was on fire for Ken Cuccinelli is an understatement. Parents worked for months collecting signatures on petitions, hosting meet-and-greets, spreading the word, and signing up as delegates to the RPV Convention.

The majority of home schooling families believe in less government, more individual responsibility, less taxes, responsible spending, and individual liberties. When they find a candidate who has those same beliefs -- and unequivocally states them -- they will back him.

As a homeschool dad Ken worked hard to use homeschoolers in his campaign. While John Brownlee had "Homeschoolers for Brownlee" signs, if you lined up all the homeschoolers who were their for Brownlee and all the homeschoolers supporting Ken it wouldn't even be a contest.

Since I haven't found a good video of what heppened right before Ken's convention speech, I would like to take a moment and describe it. After John Brownlee left the stage, the convention lights were dimmed. At that moment "Don't Tread on Me" flags that were passed out during Brownlee's speech started waving all across the convention. There were 200 large flags and thousand of small ones. The convention hall turned into a sea of yellow. At the same time pictures of the flag were placed on the main screens and an audio montage ofnews clips about the GM takeover, bailout, and DHS homeland terrorist report was played. When the montage was over, the lights came back on, Ken was at the podium, and the convention hall was electric.

If you would like to rehear Ken's speech here it is below. I hope you will join us in working hard to get the entire ticket as well as our candidates for the Virginia House of Delegates elected this November.


Ken Cuccinelli's convention speech.


Ken's acceptance speech.

Thoughts on the RPV State Convention

Most of my thoughts on the first day I already posted. However I would like to add a few more thoughts and then list off the highlights from Saturday.

1. I think it is ironic that a party that supposedly believes in transparency in government has so little in its actual operations. While Kay Cole James is an impressive person she was selected as the chairman of the convention. Why did McDonnell have to send out an e-mail urging people to vote for her, and why was her name written in the convention program as the temporary chair? What difference would it have made to have a regular vote on the issue? The disdain the party leadership has for people thinking and acting independently was driven home when a congressional district chairman came down and asked another party leader if he should consolidate a large unit so they could shout down any amendment to the rules, or effort to put in a different convention chairman. Who cares what the people think let's script and direct them as much as possible. Again I think Kay Cole James is amazing. This is simply a comment about the state of our party leadership that selects a party chairman and convention chairman for us.
   
2. Some people jokingly referred to the convention building as the Temple of Bob McDonnell. This resulted from the fact that as an uncontested nominee he still won the sign war, and his staff were given special access to the convention hall that other campaign staff were not.
3. As a Cuccinelli volunteer I have to say it was a very impressive operation. Friday night with a number of our supporters attending gala's and dinners we put fliers on every seat in the convention hall in under an hour. While the blue and red shirted Cuccinelli volunteers weren't as distinct as the neon green Brownlee supporters, they were everywhere passing out stickers, brochures, flags, and keeping track of their delegations.
4. No matter how many things Republicans may disagree on or mess up, Republicans know how to be patriotic. Whether it was Lauren Giere, or the UVA acapella group singing the national anthem, reciting the pledge of allegiance with thousands of fellow Americans, the red white and blue everywhere, or Adnan Barqawi's speech Republicans know how to make one proud to be an American.
5. This was Cuccinelli's convention. He was the reason many of those delegates were their. If anyone doubted it before Saturday, the loud sustained applause that erupted when the nominations chair said his name reinforced the fact. Just like at the Dulles rally, he received louder applause than anyone else. Ken is bringing the excitement to this party right now.
   
6. Mike Farris's name recognition increased as a result of this convention. Bolling used Dr. Farris's endorsement repeatedly in the leadup to the convention and even mentioned him in his speech. (Bolling was also the only person to reference homeschooling in his speech. Thank you Bill for recognizing the importance of homeschooling.) Many people also mentioned how a certain energy has returned to the party that they hadn't seen since Dr. Farris ran in 1993. If Dr. Farris wants to run for office later this convention may of helped bring his name back into people's memories.
7. Convention speeches matter!! While the organization before and during a convention are critical so are the speeches given by the candidates. Bolling's speech reminded voters that he is a tried and true conservative who has accomplished many things for the party and has won elections. It was a very uplifting speech. Muldoon reinforced the fact that he was running a "slash and burn" campaign. His speech was vitriolic and one long hit piece on Bolling. He failed to ever bring up his own revord and accomplishments. It drew a number of boos and probably lost him votes. In the AG contest Brownlee gave a very solid speech. He didn't use notes or a podium which was very impressive. However he essentially gave his stump speech which many of the delegates had heard before. While Cuccinelli talked about the same issues he has discussed on the campaign trail, he went about it an entirely different way. Using the Don't Tread on Me flags was a stroke of genius. It played well to the audience and reminded the convention that Ken is the candidate who will fight to limit the size of government. Some suspect that the speech pushed Ken over the edge and gave him a first ballot win. The final speech to mention was Bill Stanley's speech. Few people knew Bill and he needed to wow the audience. While he gave a good speech, his poor clock management probably didn't help him.
8. I was very impressed with the RPV outreach to new media. They did a very good job with Blogger's Row, and the attention the candidates showed to the bloggers demonstrated that it wasn't just a show.
9. Overall it was an excellent convention that recharged and united the party as move forward to victory in November.
   

Hucks Army 2.0?

In a recent e-mail sent out by Huck PAC, Mike Huckabee announces the launch of a National Volunteer Team. The heart of the e-mail says, 

I wanted to email you today to announce the launch of our National Volunteer Team. Our goal is to identify volunteers nationwide, organize into local groups in every county of the United States and then assist Huck PAC endorsed candidates.

We have divided the country into regions and will begin recruiting leadership in every state and county. Ultimately, these leaders will be responsible for building local volunteer teams, setting up events, organizing phone banks, knocking on doors and much more. Our goal is to have at least one Huck PAC group leader in every county in the nation by the end of 2009.

This is one part of our plans but is a very important part. We want to make a difference locally in the races of the candidates we are supporting (as we did with Saxby) and we believe having a volunteer team in place will make a big difference. We had a strong record of candidate support in 2008 but we weren't satisfied with the results.

The rest of the e-mail included specific ways to get involved, and further explanation of the program.

Many indicators point to the fact that Mike Huckabee will run for president again down the road.  Among all this talk though, many wonder how Huckabee will continue to stay relevant over the next few years.  The National Volunteer Team seems like a creative way to strengthen Governor Huckabee's bid to run for the Republican nomination for president down the road.  If this initiative is anywhere near close to successful and the National Volunteer Team is able to have teams in most of the counties in America by the 2010 midterm elections, it could become a powerful force for the Republican Party during those crucial elections.  If Governor Huckabee can create a force that helps elect conservative Republicans he could portray himself as a party builder, and someone who has expanded the conservative movement.

While creating a national network of volunteers who will support conservative candidates in a year seems extraordinarily difficult, Mike Huckabee and his team are probably uniquely positioned to create this group.  His presidential bid took him from being an unknown to receiving the second most delegate votes in the Republican primary.  His electoral victories included a win in Iowa and an impressive second place finish in states won on Super Tuesday.  Much of this success was the result of a passionate and well organized grassroots comprised of Fair Taxers, homeschoolers, social conservatives, and others.  These supporters formed a highly organized grassroots force known as Hucks Army.  Governor Huckabee often referred to this group as his "secret weapon" and attributed much of the success for his campaign to this group.  With a whole year to organize and create this grassroots army instead of a matter of months, it will be interesting to see how well this group does.  If they could somehow be even more effective in the midterms than Hucks Army was in the primary, that could be quite a feather in the cap of the former governor from Hope.

Special Elections Round II

Tonight Louisiana residents will go to the polls (again) for the final vote on who will represent Louisiana's 4th congressional district.

The race is between Republican John Fleming (who has a really amazing website btw), and Democrat Paul Carmouche. Sean Oxendine makes the case on The Next Right that this race is an even more important bell weather than the Saxby Chambliss senate race as it is comparable to the string of special elections the GOP lost last spring. Most polls have this race in a dead heat, and while this race is not getting the national attention the Saxby Chambliss senate race recieved, Generation Joshua does have a team of young homeschoolers working on the race. We'll see what happens, and I will post tonight to let y'all know what happens.

Hopefully the GOP can keep winning these special elections.

__________________________________

Another race to watch tonight is Louisiana's 2nd congressional district. This race is between Republican Joseph Cao, and incumbent congressman William Jefferson. In the general election in November, there was a lot of talk about possibly defeating John Murtha. It appears that tonight there is a chance to defeat William Jefferson.

This is not a bell weather race by any means as it is a solidly Democratic congressional district, defeating William Jefferson would be amazing. It would show that Republicans can win in solidly Democrat congressional districts, and it would demonstrate once again that the people of Louisiana will not tolerate corruption.

Check back in tonight for election results.

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

French Homeschoolers need your support. NOW!!

Imagine the U.S. Congress was about to pass a law almost eliminating homeschooling in America. You would probably act immediately. That's exactly what the small fledgling French homeschool movement is facing. If you have been blessed to be a homeschooler, and want other children to continue to enjoy those blessings. Please read the letter below and call the French embassy. If you have never contacted a government office before, don't worry. You can just read the script and add a couple of personal comments at the end.

Please act now and help preserve the right of parents to educate their own children.

January 9, 2007

HSLDA--French Homeschoolers Need Your Help Immediately!

Dear HSLDA members and friends:

French homeschoolers are faced with a draconian bill which will be
voted on by parliament within the next few days. We just received word
about this bill today.

Homeschooling is currently allowed in France. However, this bill would
essentially outlaw homeschooling. No parent would be allowed to
homeschool unless they showed that the health or handicap of their
child makes it necessary for him or her to be taught at home.

In addition, if a family could even prove they have a health issue or
some other "serious" reason to justify their homeschool, they would
then have to submit to a home visit by a government official each
year. Also, their curriculum would be either provided by the "National
Center of Correspondence Teaching (CNED)" or by an approved private
correspondence school.

French homeschoolers believe this bill will essentially outlaw
homeschooling as they know it in France. They plead for your help to
stop this restrictive bill.

Homeschoolers in America have successfully stopped similar legislation
in Ireland, the Czech Republic, and South Africa. In both Ireland and
the Czech Republic, the restrictive homeschooling bills had already
passed one house of parliament before we even got involved. Once we
got involved the bills were stopped.

At this point we need you to communicate with the French Embassy in
Washington, D.C. In a few days we will send another email asking you
to communicate directly with the parliament members.

ACTION REQUESTED
Please contact as soon as possible, by phone or email, the French
Embassy and give them this message:

"Amendments 127 & 128, which would virtually outlaw homeschooling, are
being voted on by the French parliament. If passed, this would cause a
travesty. We cannot believe that a free country like France would
outlaw such a basic right as parents choosing to homeschool their
children. Over two million children are being successfully
homeschooled in America. Homeschooling works. We ask that you
immediately convey to the French government our concern and request
that the bill language prohibiting homeschooling in nearly all
circumstances be withdrawn."

Also, explain in a paragraph or two the wonderful success you have had
with homeschooling.

Ambassador Jean-David Levitte
(202) 944-6000
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3600
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3601

BACKGROUND
Homeschooling has long been allowed in France. Homeschoolers have to
have regular testing and sometimes they are visited by an official,
but for the most part operate freely. This bill would completely
change that legal atmosphere and make it impossible for 95% of
homeschoolers to operate.

Please take time to help our brothers and sisters in France, where the
homeschool movement is small and they do not have a lot of
organizations or numbers. Nonetheless, there are many sincere parents
who love their children and want to faithfully teach them at home
principles from the Word of God and personally train their children.

If homeschoolers don't try to help, who will? Please take a moment and
contact the French Embassy.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Christopher J. Klicka
HSLDA Senior Counsel