AZ Policy Blog

Intolerance run amuck in Toledo

Earlier this month, the University of Toledo fired Crystal Dixon from her position of associate vice president. Why? Because she wrote this letter to the editor of the Toledo Free Press. Here's an excerpt:

As a Black woman who happens to be an alumnus of the University of Toledo's Graduate School, an employee and business owner, I take great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are "civil rights victims." Here's why. I cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a Black woman. I am genetically and biologically a Black woman and very pleased to be so as my Creator intended.

Here's Family Research Council's coverage of this outrageous and intolerant firing. Ms. Dixon has announced that she will be filing an employment discrimination lawsuit.

Abortions targeting girls

Recently, there has been a lot of coverage on the problem of prenatal screening being used to eliminate baby girls through abortion. It's a problem in India, China, and Korea--but it's also a problem here in the United States.

 

Here is a New York Times article on a speech delivered by Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India. He makes his views on the practice very clear:

No nation, no society, no community can hold its head high and claim to be part of the civilized world if it condones the practice of discriminating against one half of humanity represented by women.

Here is Prime Minister Singh's speech in its entirety. Here is an AP article noting that this is happening in the United States. Here is a commentary by Dr. Alber Mohler. And here is a commentary by William Saletan addressing the issue at Slate.com (h/t Chuck Blanchard).

Condoms and corsages in Bisbee

In a decision that is both stunning and outrageous, the Bisbee School Board decided to give each student attending prom this year two condoms. Here’s coverage from the Family Research Council and from World Net Daily. Here’s the Sierra Vista Herald’s original, nonchalant coverage of the 4-1 vote to hand out the condoms (the Herald is the local paper in Bisbee). And you can read outraged letters to the Herald’s editor here and here. Here's an excerpt from one of the letters:

The information that was appalling to me, as a parent and a taxpayer, is that condoms will be given to all attendees of the Bisbee High School prom. Even more appalling is the fact that your paper treated this as just an everyday occurrence.

Big Brother Knows Best?

Parents do not have a constitutional right to determine the best way to educate their children, said the California Court of Appeals in a shocking ruling that came down on February 28. Rather than limiting its ruling to the specific family at issue, the court used broad language to attack the rights of parents to determine what education is appropriate for their children. The court placed the state’s interests in mandating education above the parents’ beliefs about how to raise their children. The court also scoffed at the parents’ assertion that their choice to homeschool was based on their religious beliefs, stating that “such sparse representations are too easily asserted by any parent who wishes to home school his or her child.”

The California statutes are particularly unfriendly to homeschooling, and previous court decisions have also gone against parents. However, before this decision, the Home School Legal Defense Association had identified four options for parents who wished to educate their children at home in compliance with the law. Attorneys involved in the case estimate that 166,000 children could be affected if this brazen affront to parents' rights and religious freedom is not overturned by the California Supreme Court.

HSLDA is circulating a petition to have the California Supreme Court depublish the opinion to prevent it from being used as precedent by other state courts.  For more information, Arizona Families for Home Education issued this statement regarding the ruling and the implications for Arizona.

The dark side of Valentine's Day

Here's a truly heart-breaking report on divorce and Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day is a popular day to file for The Big D in the Valley.

On average, 19 more divorces are filed on February 14 than on any other business day in Maricopa County Superior Court, according to a Republic analysis of divorce filings over the last decade.

The phenomenon is known as the Valentine's Effect. Divorce lawyers and relationship experts theorize the calendar day reserved for passion and romance triggers the opposite emotion in miserable spouses that helps them come to terms that the honeymoon is over. Bringing the bad news on a day when people traditionally express love and commitment adds a dash of vindictiveness.

The article contains another sad statistic. "Divorces in Maricopa County have risen about 9 percent over the past decade."

No-fault divorce laws swept the nation on the promise that things would be better for everyone and even that divorce proceedings would become more civil. But as the divorce rates continue to rise--and divorce attorneys look forward to raking in the cash every February 14th--its time to admit that no-fault divorce is a public policy gone terribly wrong.

Update: Here's another story on the same sad topic, with an added twist of shameless, irresponsible promotion of divorce by a West Virginia radio station.