Oh, the Hypocrisy!

     As the United Nations General Assembly meets this week, I thought you would find this little tidbit interesting.  Only in this crazy, upside-down world of the Twenty-first Century, could a man accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) be awarded a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council.  That's right, this self-proclaimed and exalted inter-governmental body, which is "responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe", has just agreed to let the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir, have a say in addressing situations of human rights violations and to make recommendations on them.

     In case any of you don't recognize his name, Al-Bashir has been brought to the attention of many Americans by the efforts of George Clooney.  The actor has been on the world stage trying to bring attention to the violent conflict in Darfur, which has easily resulted in a death toll in the hundreds of thousands.
     Al-Bashir assumed the Presidency of Sudan after a bloodless coup in 1989, and the ensuing years have seen his country engulfed in a violent and deadly civil war.  The Pro-Arab North has effectively decimated South Sudan and the Western region of Darfur through brutality, disease and starvation.  For his part, Al-Bashir has alternately been called a Dictator, Warlord, and Genocidal Murderer.  Sounds like the perfect person to consider matters of human rights violations, don't you think?  But why should it surprise us?  The leaders of Cuba, Iran and Venezuela also have a seat on the Human Rights Council! What's one more murderous Despot?
     So how can it be that this man, who has been charged by the ICC of "murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing, and forcibly transferring citizens in his own country (through forced removal)", will be expected to uphold the highest standards in the protection of human rights?  How can a man that an independent world organization, such as Human Rights Watch, and Judicial Watch, a watchdog over our own government's judicial system, be allowed to pass judgment on other human rights violators?  And perhaps worst of all, why are Americans continuing to fund the existence of such a corrupt organization as the U.N., to the tune of over $7 Billion per year?

U.N. General Assembly

     The fact that the U.N. is corrupt cannot be disputed.  Remember the Food-For-Oil scandal?  The problem is this:  It is not accountable to anyone.  It makes its own rules and sets its own agenda, which appears to be increasingly "one-world-like".  Tolerance, Sustainability and Equality are all U.N. touchstones.  Just a quick, cursory glance at the U.N. Secretary-General's 5-year Action Plan is enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.  Most prominently, you will find Sustainability through Agenda 21, which includes Green Climate Control and securing (by 2015)  "a comprehensive climate change agreement applicable to all parties with legal force under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change!
     Why are we standing for this?  How do we force the U.N. out of our country?  Why are we making it easy for them to institute their brand of hegemony over us?  I feel like we have been invaded by some alien force from another planet!  They do not represent the values of a majority of Americans; yet our national policies are beginning to mirror the objectives of this renegade organization.  Our rights are being suppressed and decimated by an organization that doesn't represent us!
     It seems to me that the U.N. has overstepped its original purpose.  It was founded in 1945 after World War II to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue.  Now it has appointed itself caretaker of international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achievement of world peace.  Take a look at the world!  Is it more secure?  Is the world economy stable, let alone growing?  World peace seems further away than it has ever been.  I think it is pretty obvious that the United Nations is a miserable failure.   Yet our elected officials keep signing U.N. treaties we don't want and refusing to stand up for the sovereignty of the United States.
     The appointment of Al-Bashir is just a symptom of the deceit and non-relevancy of what I think is a dishonorable and frankly, evil, organization.  It will be interesting to see what develops this week, and how our country and the world will be affected.  I don't have much hope that it will be constructive or beneficial to either us or the world.

Psalm 36:2-4       "In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin.  The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good. Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong."
     

Homeschoolers Beware!

     Just when we thought it was safe to go back into the water, there is another dangerous entity circling our lifeboat.  Recently two potentially harmful UN treaties were defeated, or at least stalled.  First, what has become known as the Small Arms Treaty was halted when the U.S., and then later, Russia and China, all asked for more time to consider the ratification of a treaty that sought to regulate the worldwide sale of guns.  Opponents of this treaty feared that it would be the beginning of limitations on our Second Amendment rights.

     Secondly, the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) was defeated in the U.S. Senate.  According to The Washington Times, "Critics of the treaty argue that it would subject U.S. sovereignty to an international body, require American businesses to pay royalties for resource exploitation and subject the U.S. to unwieldy environmental regulations as defined."   In simple terms, LOST called for the redistribution of both technology and wealth from developed countries to undeveloped countries.  It also had an environmental element in the treaty; all parties to the treaty are required to adopt pollution regulations and laws to protect the oceans.  It is my understanding that countries would be limited to claiming a 12-mile offshore area as their own, and economic zone limits were also to be established.  Does anyone believe in national sovereignty and jurisdiction anymore?  That's enough for me! Thank the Lord!  At least there are still some patriots in the U.S. Senate.
     But don't let your guard down.  According to South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, there is another treaty on the horizon that should be drawing our attention.  According to an article at World Net Daily, it's called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Disabled, which calls for government agents to supersede the authority of parents of disabled children and even covers abortion.  First of all, I don't know if you've noticed, but the last few treaties proposed by the UN have done a pretty good job of bypassing the sovereignty of our Constitution.  And now they want to supercede the authority of parents?!?  Of course, Progressives in our government (pick a political Party; any Party) will tell you that it will increase the rights of all disabled people across the globe; old limits will be dissolved and new opportunities will arise.
     But Senator DeMint warns that it's all a smokescreen.  “When you look at the language in the treaty you realize there are other things at stake here. There is a lot of language in there that has nothing to do with disabilities, and is more likely to push the U.S. toward more international law.”  Here's the basis for the fear:  the more we get entangled and intertwined with international law, the more federal judges are going to be upholding international law over Constitutional law.  And any law that displaces parental authority is a bad law.

     What has all this to do with homeschooling, you ask?  When international law is being seriously considered as becoming the law of our land, parents have the obligation to know how it will affect their authority.  And a recent letter by a Swedish Ambassador to  Missouri Senator Roy Blunt expressed a most alarming tone.  In another WND article, Ambassador Jonas Hafstrom was quoted as saying, “The government does not find that homeschooling is necessary for religious or philosophical reasons."  Why should we care about what a European ambassador has to say about homeschooling?  Because Sweden has made homeschooling illegal, and has issued a statement that all children must be taught the state-mandated beliefs because it is their right.  And once this attitude takes hold as international law, these tyrannical treaties that we sign will give our government authority over our children.
     Michael Donnelly of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is concerned enough that he is sounding the alarm.  The association further cites a new education act in Canada that "assumes that the government should dictate what each and every child should learn – including formative issues such as religion, human sexuality and sexual orientation. In the situations in Canada and Sweden, we see a one-size-fits-all approach to education that seeks to restrict, if not deny, a parent’s ability to teach what they believe.”
     See, here's the point.  As we become further and further entrapped by the UN, and as we allow ourselves to be governed by international law, it won't be long before some international body is telling you what your children are allowed to be taught.  As the article notes, this is not a far cry from Hitler's Ministry of Education and the control of German youth as he gained power.
     I know this may sound a little reactionary, and perhaps even far-fetched.  But I doubt that anyone can argue that these UN Treaties are being arranged without the knowledge of the American people, and they most certainly do not maintain our sovereignty or Constitutional guarantees.  There should be no more sacred relationship than that of a parent and a child.  And when our government betrays parental authority, and relinquishes it to an international body and set of laws, then we must fight to protect our children.  Read up on this new attempt to surrender our rights.  Stay informed.  If you believe a parent should have the final say in their child's education; and should have the freedom to homeschool if they desire, then you need to get in the trenches.  Because this is no less than a fight for the minds and the education of our children.

Deuteronomy 4:8-9       " And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them."