Introduction and Note from John Holmes, ACSI Director for Government Affairs
Be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
—Ephesians 5:18–20 (NIV, emphasis mine)
Yes, it’s Thanksgiving season, but maybe we feel as though God has not enabled us to successfully “dream the impossible dream” or “fight the unbeatable foe” as Don Quixote in Man from La Mancha did. It could be that this isn’t God’s way for most of us. Our job is to let Him fill us with His Spirit and let Him help us see—probably much later—what He has done.
Saint Paul, the writer of the Ephesians quote above, also says in Colossians 3, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (v. 17). And later he writes, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (vv. 23–24).
Question: Are you grateful that God has given you the ability to muddle through? University of Manchester professors Geim and Novoselov seem to be. They are about to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 for their creative way of looking at nanolayers of graphite and finding an inexpensive way to harvest graphene for marketable use. They are looking at graphene’s potential to replace silicon in computers. Word is they chuckle when they tell the world that they used Scotch tape to solve their nanolayer problem. (See the Nobel Prize website or the Wall Street Journal article cited below for more details.)
“Six or seven years ago, we stumbled on this new class of materials,” said Dr. Geim…. “You can’t imagine anything thinner than one atom. We found its properties to be amazing—very different from any other standard three-dimensional material.”
Graphene is believed to be the thinnest and strongest material in the world, more than one hundred times as strong as the strongest steel. It is virtually transparent, extremely dense, and impermeable to gases and liquids. “It’s stiffer than a diamond. At the same time, you can stretch it like rubber.”…
Dr. Geim said he had been working at home … when a representative from the Swedish academy called with the news. He hopes to sidestep the Nobel Prize publicity as much as possible in order to keep his focus on the unusual properties of graphene.
“I plan to keep muddling through—as usual,” [he] said. (Gautam Naik, “Ultrathin Carbon Earns Nobel,” WJS.com, October 6, 2010)
Most of us may not receive a Nobel Prize, but we can do great things for God! Look back over the years you have served Him … see what God has done … and keep “muddling through.”
Happy Thanksgiving to each of you as we celebrate God’s best through each of us and the Christian school community!
From Capitol Hill
Recess appointments blocked by Senate. Multiple sources reported that the Republicans and the Democrats struck a deal that keeps President Obama from making recess appointments through the middle of November—while the Congress is out of town trying to save their seats. —CitizenLink staff, “Senate Blocks Any More Recess Appointments by President Obama,” October 1, 2010 and Mysterytoy, “Senate Spoils Obama’s Recess,” comment on the Drudge Retort blog, October 1, 2010 Parentalrights.org and ACSI are
urging all U.S. House candidates (including incumbents) to pledge their support for the Parental Rights Amendment [HJ Res. 42]…. Urge friends, family, and school colleagues to join you! Here is what you need to do right now…:
- If he or she is seeking reelection and isn’t already a cosponsor, call your current representative’s local office and ask him or her to cosponsor HJ Res. 42, the Parental Rights Amendment. [Also, call the opposition’s campaign offices.]…
- If you have a contact number for a third party candidate whose number is not included on our page already, e-mail Ashley@parentalrights.org with that information.
Where do I find the phone numbers? Just click on your state below, then scroll down to your district.
What do I say? Tell them you’ve seen the Zogby poll, and you are part of the 93% of Americans who agree with the traditional definition of fundamental parental rights. Tell them you intend to see the Parental Rights Amendment passed in the U.S. House next year, and that you want them to be part of that solution. We want sitting members to cosponsor HJ Res. 42 in this Congress and commit to cosponsoring the new HJ resolution in January. We want challenger candidates to sign the pledge promising their support if they are elected….
Thank you. —ParentalRights.org, “It’s Time! Please Call Today,” October 5, 2010
News You Can Use
Three cheers for Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo. ACSI stands foursquare with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which “applaud[ed] the awarding of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize to [Chinese dissident] Liu Xiaobo and urge[d] the Obama administration to embrace advancement of the Charter ‘08 Principles as a prominent part of U.S.-China relations…. In a 2006 article ‘Changing the Regime to Change Society,’ Liu Xiaobo cited St. Thomas Aquinas’ notion of political virtue as critical to the reform of China’s political system, saying that ‘virtuous good governance lies not only in maintaining order, but even more in establishing human dignity … [recognizing that] humans exist not only physically, but also spiritually, possessing a moral sense … that is the natural source of our sense of justice’ ” (last two ellipses and last brackets in original). Leonard Leo, USCIRF chair said that “U.S. policy and programs should stand firmly with Liu Xiaobo and work to advance the reforms included in Charter ‘08, including the freedom of religion. But the main lesson the Obama Administration can learn from Liu Xiaobo is that human rights cannot be viewed as a sideline concern, but [as] critically linked to the advancement of all U.S. interests, including China’s peaceful rise.” —USCIRF press release, October 14, 2010
The dead receiving federal mail. Last year the feds sent about 89,000 $250 checks to dead or incarcerated people through the Obama administration’s economic stimulus program. According to a report by the Social Security Office of the Inspector General, “the Social Security Administration [SSA] distributed about $13 billion to 52 million eligible beneficiaries in the form of $250 checks as part of the economic recovery program. The program cost $814 billion. Most of the payments were issued properly, but SSA failed to check all available payment records or was unaware that beneficiaries had died…. Although SSA lacks the authority to recoup most of the money, the report estimates that slightly more than half of the payments have been returned.” —Ed O’Keefe, “Thousands of Stimulus Checks Sent in Error, Report Says,” Washington Post, October 7, 2010
PAEMST awards. “The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching [PAEMST] are the Nation’s highest honors for teachers of mathematics and science. The Awards recognize outstanding K–12 teachers for their contributions in the classroom and to their profession. Since 1983, more than 4,000 teachers have been recognized for their contributions to mathematics and science education. If you know great teachers, nominate them to join this prestigious network of professionals.” The 2011 awards, which will honor science and math teachers of grades 7 through 12, give $10,000 to each recipient. Nominations are open, and applications (due May 2, 2011) are available on the PAEMST website.
A September 15 ruling by a Pennsylvania district court hurts all private religious schools. The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg and its schools were declared to be recipients of federal financial assistance because of the participation of one of the diocese schools in the National School Lunch and E-Rate programs. This ruling is of great concern to all private religious schools, including the ACSI and Council for American Private Education members. The USDA free- or reduced-lunch program sparks an ongoing debate over federal financial assistance, and no clarifying statement has been forthcoming from the USDA.
The E-rate as federal financial assistance is a whole new charge. E-rate, as now administered, contains no federal funds. Its funding is from monies collected by telephone companies, and the monies are used to reduce the cost of obtaining computers, telephones, and Internet connectivity for public and private schools through third parties. Please understand that ACSI and other private school groups disagree with the federal judge’s decision.
“The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal … from [ACSI] Christian schools] that want the University of California [UC] to grant college-prep credit for courses with religious viewpoints—using textbooks, UC says, that replace science with the Bible….The justices, without comment, denied a hearing to the [ACSI], which accused the university of violating freedom of speech and religion with its policy on the classes applicants take in high school. UC requires certain high school courses for admission and says it reviews their content to make sure they cover subjects that incoming students need. University officials said some of the Christian schools’ classes in biology, history, English and religion didn’t pass the test—a conclusion that the [Christian] schools blamed on discrimination.” [As it does in more than 95% of the cases that petition for certiorari (i.e., an accepted discretionary review of a case), the Supreme Court declined to exercise its discretion to review this case, and thus the ninth circuit opinion stands. While ACSI is disappointed in the standard used by the lower court and the ninth circuit to evaluate violations of free speech in this case, ACSI is undeterred in its commitment to vigilantly protect the rights of its member Christian schools and their students. ACSI believes that equal standards should be used in the admissions process and that students from member schools, once admitted, will excel. —Ed.] —Bob Egelko, “Christian Schools Lose Appeal Bid in UC Case,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 14, 2010
National Notes November 2010