Tuesdays with Paulie 10/16/07 (late edition)

Insanity in Portland
Public school may hand out the pill to children

Growing up in a suburban middle class home in the Midwest, I believed that everyone except common criminals knew right from wrong. Not until I went to college did I run into people who believed right and wrong had nothing to do with common sense or decency. I recall a student government event I attended in which I was frowned upon because I believed children shouldn't be exposed to pornography. I was called closed minded.

Today these people call themselves Progressive thinkers and have positions of authority that may endanger the well being of our children.

On Wednesday evening the Portland, Maine school committee will consider a proposal that will permit 6Th grade girls, who tend be 11 years old, access to birth control pills without parental notification. Students at King Middle School who have permission to be treated at their health center will be able to receive prescriptions for the pill without mommy or daddy ever finding out.

Is it me? Am I the only one who thinks that 11 year old kids shouldn't be having sex? By supplying birth control aren't we encouraging this type of behavior? I believe so.

According to the Portland Press Herald, of 134 students who visited King's health center during the 2006-07 school year, five students, or 4 percent, reported having sexual intercourse, said Amanda Rowe, lead nurse in Portland's school health centers.

"This is a service that is totally needed," Rowe said. "It's about very few kids, but they are kids who don't have the same opportunities and access as other students."


Will someone please take away this nurse's license. This is the same attitude that created the new age of thinking in which mom and dad are friends with their kids before being parents. Children need guidance and to learn right from wrong. Then again if you don't believe that right and wrong exist you have no basis to be a parent.

It is inconceivable for me to believe that any sane human being can favor 11 year old girls taking birth control pills, let alone without parental consent. The fact that a school board can even consider such a matter is the very definition of insanity.

It is times like this that I am reminded why this country needs an education overhaul. The answer is school choice. Let parents decide how their tax money should be spent to educate their children.

If a leftist lunatic wants to send their children to Karma Sutra elementary school it is their prerogative. However if respectable parents want to send their children to a school that doesn't promote the idea of pre-teen sexual activity or dare I say, a religious affiliation, they should have that right as well.

Keep the government and the Progressives out of education. My children my choice!

America welcomes a Mensch
The Dalai Lama to receive Congressional Gold Medal

When describing a good or noble person, Jews use the Yiddish word Mensch to refer to such an individual. Do you have to be Jewish to be a Mensch? No, but Ann Coulter won't be receiving that label anytime soon. When I think of such a person, I think about what I want my children to become and who to emulate. I think about the Dalai Lama.

Why does a Jew hold such high regard for the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism? It's very simple. When it comes to respecting your fellow man, promoting peace and tolerance, as well being the ultimate moral authority in the world, Hello Dalai!

This week the exiled leader of Tibet is meeting dignitaries in the United States, including President Bush at the White House. He will also be receiving the Congressional Gold Medal, which will put him in the same company as the likes of Mother Teresea, Rosa Parks and Elie Wiesel.

The government of China has strongly objected to the White House receiving and honoring the Dalai Lama. They view him as a threat to their sovereignty as he is viewed as a God-like figure to the people of Tibet, which China has ruled since it's 1951 invasion. Beijing views him as a threat, but the Dalai Lama says he wants "real autonomy," not independence, for Tibet. China demonizes the spiritual leader and believes the United States is honoring a separatist.

China's attitude toward this man who has lived his life to serve others and bring peace to the world is an example of the evils that engulf Communism. How anyone can dislike such a great example of humanity is beyond comprehension. Lets be truthful. Any person that can tolerate followers such as Richard Gere without developing a drinking habit or becoming a crack addict is undoubtedly a leader of morality in the world.

God Bless you Dalai Lama

Paulie